CITY of Harare has showered praises on the council-run football club, Harare City FC after the Sunshine Boys clinched the prestigious Chibuku Super Cup trophy at Rufaro two weeks ago.
BY VANESSA GONYE
The Sunshine Boys, who have been one of the dominant teams in the tournament since its rebirth three years ago, became the only local club to win the Chibuku Super Cup with a dominant 3-1 victory over How Mine.
Harare City FC communication and development officer, Hope Chizuzu said council was happy with the team’s progress, as they managed to maintain very high standards in the country’s biggest domestic knock-out tournament, since its re-inception in 2014.
“As City of Harare, we are saying our boys did well, played well in the Chibuku Cup and won 3-1 against How Mine; we welcome and encourage sport in its entirety and will continue to contribute in its development,” he said.
A brace from William Manondo and another goal from Edwin Madhanhanga in an eight minute blitz saw How Mine crumble like a deck of cards as Harare City clinched the 2017 Chibuku Super Cup crown and in the process booked a ticket to next year’s CAF Confederation Cup.
In addition, the 2017 Chibuku Super Cup champions Harare City FC will have another chance of bagging another piece of silverware this season when they play in the Castle Lager Challenge Cup against the yet-to- be-crowned league winners.
The Castle Lager Challenge Cup was introduced to celebrate the Premier Soccer League’s existence since 1992 and will feature the Chibuku Super Cup.
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The match will mark the end of the season, with the winner set to pocket $30 000 while the finalist will get $20 000.
But before Harare City could think of the CAF Confederation Cup, they need to secure their place in the league as they were until yesterday involved in a battle for survival.
Prior to yesterday’s final round of fixtures, Harare City were in the relegation zone but Chizuzu was optimistic of the team’s chances of maintaining their premiership status.
“With the performance of Harare City FC at the backdrop of their efforts since 2013 when we joined the premiership league, I am sure they can make it through efforts of Harare City FC and corporate assistance from the council,” he said.
Harare FC is the first club to win the Chibuku trophy twice since 2014 and have been the most consistent performers in the cup.
Club history
Founding:
Harare City was formed in 1989 by City of Harare employees. Its initial name was City of Harare FC and it played in the Harare Social League. In 1992 it applied for affiliation into the Zifa Division 3A League and stayed there for two seasons, winning promotion into the Division 2A League in 1995. It, however, went back to Harare Social League due to financial reasons and played for five seasons before joining the Highfield Area Zone League in 2000.
2000 to current
In 2000 the club changed its name to Bhanya Mulenge FC but changed back to City of Harare FC in 2002. In 2008, the club rejoined the Division 3A League and won promotion after just that one season into Division 2A. When they started playing in Division 2A in 2009, the team’s name was changed again to Harare City FC.
Under coach Arthur Tutani, the club gained promotion into the Northern Region Division One League in 2010. Unfortunately, Tutani left the club to join Monomotapa FC. He was replaced by Bigboy Mawiwi, who led the club into the Premier Soccer League (PSL) at the end of the 2011 season. In their debut season in the PSL, they finished a credible eigth on the standings. In 2012 they ended on second position, losing the league title to Dynamos on goal difference.
