Now over to Ngezi, Paralympics team and DeMbare
IN the last few weeks, Zimbabweans had been held spellbound by the heroic performances of the dynamic athletics sprints pair of Tapiwanashe Makarawu and Makanakaishe Charamba.
Makarawu and Charamba were the best performers from the small contingent of Team Zimbabwe athletes at the recently-held Olympic Games in Paris, France.
They hogged the limelight and flew the Zimbabwe flag high when competing in the men’s 200 metre final with Makarawu finishing sixth and Charamba eighth.
It was the first time in 16 years that Zimbabwe were having an athlete competing in the Olympic Games 200m final, with Brian Dzingai having been the last man to achieve that feat in 2008.
Dzingai came fourth in a race won by iconic Jamaican sprinter and global superstar Usain Bolt.
Just like Dzingai before them, Makarawu and Charamba showed great courage and heroism even as they were making their debut appearances at the Olympics.
As the sporting fraternity shifts attention from the Olympics to other international assignments, focus will this weekend also move from Makarawu and Charamba to Zimbabwe’s flag bearers in the Confederation of African Football (CAF) interclub competitions Ngezi Platinum Stars and Dynamos.
Zimbabwe will also have representation at the Paralympic Games, which just like the Olympics are being staged in Paris.
Team Zimbabwe at the Paralympics is made up of two athletes Kudakwashe Chigwedere and Tinotenda Bango who will represent the county in athletics after getting universality wild cards.
Chigwedere will compete in the men’s 100m — T47 category and Bango will take part in the women’s 100m — T47 category.
The duo will seek to emulate Elliot Mujaji’s feat at the Paralympics who won gold at the Sydney Games in Australia in 2000 and in Athens, Greece four years later.
That Mujaji is in Paris as their coach means they have an added advantage of learning from the man who has travelled that journey before.
We hope that the air of heroism and confidence that has been swirling around Zimbabwean sport largely driven by Makarawu and Charamba will now transform to the football and Paralympics arena.
Makarawu and Charamba barely showed that they were on debut as they shone brightly, which shows the power of self-belief and confidence.
Ngezi Platinum Stars are featuring in the CAF Champions League while Dynamos will be representing the country in the Confederation Cup.
Although they are taking their bow in the Champions League, the platinum miners are not newcomers to a CAF competition. They have travelled the road before as they were part of the cast of African teams that were vying for honours in the 2017 Confederation Cup.
Just like Makarawu and Charamba showed, there is nothing for Ngezi to fear as the plunge into battle away against AS Maniema of the Democratic Republic of Congo having drawn the first leg 0-0 at the Heroes Stadium in Lusaka, Zambia last week.
Dynamos are also in this afternoon when they clash against Zambian outfit ZESCO United in a Confederation Cup preliminary round fixture in Ndola.
DeMbare carry a slender 1-0 advantage from the first leg in Gaborone, Botswana and will have to summon all their experience and pedigree to prevail.
After all, global football has repeatedly shown that “there are no longer any small teams in the game’’ with upset results being the new order.
Ngezi can draw from the experience of their captain and reigning Soccer Star of the Year Qadr Amini who has played Champions League football with Gunners and FC Platinum.
Club team manager Tinashe Nengomasha has also featured in the jungles of African football with South African giants Kaizer Chiefs and the Zimbabwe Warriors and the pair have an opportunity to share their experiences with the greenhorns within their ranks.
Despite some big hitters like Al Ahly, Esperance, Wydad Casablanca and Mamelodi Sundowns, only joining in after the preliminary round stage, Ngezi cannot afford to be, also rans, in the Champions League tournament.
In fact, this weekend provides a big chance for Ngezi and Dynamos to be our football ambassadors and to prove to Africa that the Zimbabwean game is still alive and competitive.
Dynamos, as an institution are not new boys to African competition but the Harare giants have now clocked a decade since their participation in a CAF competition in April 2014.
DeMbare are Zimbabwe’s most successful club in continental football having reached the 1998 Champions League final and advancing to the semi-final stage of the same competition 10 years later.
In 2008, Dynamos were the poorest club in their group which was made of cash rich and past Champions League winners Al Ahly and Zamalek of Egypt Ivorian side ASEC Mimosas but still defied the odds to prove they were a force in the tournament.
In the end they reached the semi-final after finishing second in their group behind eventual winners Al Ahly before losing to Cotonsport Garoua of Cameroon
As was the case with Team Zimbabwe, we believe that Ngezi and Dynamos deserve everyone’s support as they showcase Zimbabwean football in their CAF duties.
We believe that the Paralympics pair of Chigwedere and Bango deserve the same encouragement and support, which the nation rendered to Makarawu and Charamba as they fly the Zimbabwean flag in Paris.
Fine runs by both Dynamos and Ngezi will force the rest of Africa to stop and take notice of what Zimbabwean football is offering and can offer and subsequently put the country’s sport on the spotlight.
Makarawu and Charamba have done their part in showcasing Zimbabwe’s athletics potential at the big stage and it now over to Ngezi and Dynamos to emulate such a feat as they begun their quests for Champions League and Confederation Cup glory.
Similarly, it is now up to Chigwedere and Bango to make a case for Zimbabwe’s Paralympics.
By virtue of being the country’s representatives, everything that Dynamos and Ngezi will do in Zambia and DRC today will be in the name of Zimbabwe and we trust that coaches Takesure Chiragwi for Ngezi and Lloyd Chigowe for Dynamos have done their part to adequately prepare to compete.