Rovers settle for Vengere Stadium

30 Mar, 2018 - 00:03 0 Views

The ManicaPost

Ray Bande Senior Sports Reporter
MUTARE City Rovers have been granted permission to use Vengere Stadium in Rusape and will host Harare City on Easter Monday as the Premiership returnees continue playing their home matches away from home.

The match starts at 3pm.

After being barred from using Sakubva Stadium as their home ground owing to its derelict state, Mutare City Rovers played their first home match of the season in Harare at the giant National Sports Stadium on Saturday.

The match against Chapungu was the second league assignment for Gusha Bhora and just like their season opener they lost it 3-2.

City Rovers chief of protocol Benjamin Chindima confirmed that they have been permitted to play their homes matches at Vengere Stadium.

“We are a bit relieved that we will be playing our home matches at Vengere Stadium. Apart from it being nearer to Mutare in terms of distance we are in the same province with Rusape therefore it gives us a sense of belonging even for the Rusape fans.

“We urge the people of Rusape to turn out in their numbers to support their team and even Mutare fans can now easily travel to watch their team in action.

“This does not mean we are now relaxing as far as renovations of Sakubva Stadium are concerned. We will continue pushing for speedy renovations and ensure that we revert to Sakubva when it meets the required standards,” said Chindima.

The Mutare City Rovers chief of protocol made a passionate plea on his Facebook page for followers of the game of football in Mutare to rally behind the club for the love of the city and the province.

He said: “Ladies and gentleman this is a unique post. Derived from the great South African novelist Nadine Gordimer who once said, ‘A truly living human being cannot remain neutral’.

“I guess that is why when I write this I am alive to the idea that so many of us here are animated by the idea of building a better Mutare City Rovers, a better team from Manicaland and above all a better Eastern  Region representative.

“All of us carry the belief that through sport and soccer in particular and out of the ashes of economic hardships and troubles, a united province can emerge.

“We are saddened by the fact that for the past two decades we have failed to have a soccer team that can compete at a level where we can contribute a significant number of the players to the national team, despite Eastern Region being the epitome of industries which can support the growth of soccer. I implore you ladies and gentleman wherever you might be to re-think and relook at this team called Mutare city rovers.

“It is our team and the present ambassadors of our province the same way that we have Dynamos and Caps United in Harare, Highlanders in Bulawayo, Ngezi and FC Platinum in Midlands. This year 2018 should be a unique year for Manicaland. Let us put our heads together and help the players achieve their dreams. This is a year of a new dispensation and through our collective efforts we can achieve our goals.

“Sometimes we disagree with each other because we care so much about the future of our team. And that is okay. It is healthy for us to engage in robust debates, but equally there is no room for those who want to divide us. We must challenge each other’s ideas in a constructive manner.

“For this is how we can learn from each other and grow stronger. We are guided by our values and it is these values for our province that should unite us.

“Recently, I witnessed hundreds of companies at the Golden Peacock, they were all branded ‘Manicaland is now open for business’ and I implore the same to happen for our football team. At the moment Mutare City Rovers is equal to ‘Manicaland’ City Rovers. This is what we should achieve if we are to succeed as a province. The team needs your help, the guys need your handouts, they are your sons and I am convinced this time they will work tirelessly to preserve Premier League in Manicaland.

“I hope this post will touch a heart, be it a business man, a parent or any other. If you go to Harare you see players being treated like kings yet we let our own sons from suburbs such as Chikanga and Sakubva to toil everyday but not appreciate their efforts.

“Thank you to all who made the fundraising dinner a success.

“May God continue to add from where you removed and shared with the boys. We must stay resolute as a province and committed to a system that will protect our own.

“Let us unite, let us bring ideas to the team and in closing let me quote the words of the American writer Maya Angelon when she said ‘The thing to do, it seems, is to prepare yourself so you can be a rainbow in somebody else’ cloud, somebody who may not look like you.’

“So I urge all of us ladies and gentleman to be the rainbow to the players, to be the rock that they can build                  their dreams on,” reads Chindima’s statement on his Facebook timeline.

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