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Caps United and Denver Mukamba seal divorce

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Denver Mukamba

CAPS United will today meet Denver Mukamba’s manager, Gibson Mahachi, to discuss the troubled midfielder’s future with the club. A divorce between the two parties is likely to be sealed today. Mukamba, who is on a one-year loan deal at the Green Machine from rivals Dynamos, has been Absent Without Official Leave (AWOL) from Makepekepe for the last one-and-half months.

With both Mahachi and CAPS United both in the dark on the whereabouts of the troubled 2012 Soccer Star of the Year, the two parties have resolved to meet and discuss the way forward.

Mahachi, a respected player-manager, has found it difficult to help Mukamba and has told The Herald efforts to establish the whereabouts of the player have not been successful. The lanky midfielder, who was shown the exit door at Dynamos by coach Lloyd Mutasa following a nasty fallout due to his wayward behaviour, last reported for training at CAPS United last month.

There were reports he was eyeing a return to the Glamour Boys, but Mutasa’s return to the club could have ended the speculation.
But, interestingly, Mukamba has not been spotted anywhere near Dynamos in recent weeks.

Although the Green Machine chief executive, Cuthbert Chitima, could not be reached for comment yesterday, he recently hinted that they were mulling to offload the troubled player.

“We are yet to meet as a club over the Denver Mukamba issue. He is AWOL and no one knows where he is at the moment,” said Chitima.
“He is irresponsible and although we are yet to meet with the club executive over the issue, I think the best way forward for the team is to part ways with him.

“He is a bad influence on other players and we cannot be held at ransom by one player. It would be in the best interests of the team to move forward without him.”

And the club’s meeting with Denver Mukamba’s manager is largely expected to iron out issues surrounding the loan deal with the most probable outcome being the cancellation of the contract.

“I have done all I could to try and find out where Denver Mukamba could be holed up and what the problem could be, but to no success,” said Mahachi.
“Since he was reported to have gone AWOL at his team, CAPS United, I have not seen him.

“I have also not heard from him and I think I have done my best to find where he could be and why he decided to do what he did.

“Tomorrow (today) we have a meeting with CAPS United to discuss the issue. That is the best way to forge ahead in the best interests of the club.”

CAPS United are still hopeful they can challenge for the championship as their coach Lloyd Chitembwe is optimistic his charges will turn on the power in the second half of the season that begins next week.

With the team having already lost rookie midfielder, Nicholas Guyo, to South African National First Division side Ubuntu and set to lose Praise Tonha, Oscar Machapa and Abasarim Chidiebere, Chitembwe will be keen to add depth to the side.

This could include filling Mukamba’s slot with someone else.

The Herald

SPORTS

Highlanders’ Apology for Fan Misconduct in Abandoned Dynamos Fixture

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Highlanders Football Club has issued a sincere apology to the Zimbabwean football community following the crowd skirmishes that occurred during the high-profile premiership fixture against their archrivals Dynamos. The incident happened just 33 minutes into the game at Barbourfields Stadium, where the Bulawayo club was trailing by two goals. Fans stormed the pitch, protesting against the referring decisions that were perceived to be unfavourable to their team.

The police were overwhelmed by the advancing football hooligans, forcing them to retreat. Some fans were injured during the skirmishes, and vehicles were damaged as the police fought running battles with fans outside the stadium.

In a statement released on Monday, the Highlanders Football Club condemned the unsporting behaviour of the fans who caused the abandonment of the match. The club executive stated that they would be heavily fined for the mayhem, and the points would be awarded to Dynamos on a 3-0 scoreline as per the norm with abandoned matches.

The statement read, “Highlanders Football Club is deeply saddened by the crowd trouble that led to the abandonment of our league match against Dynamos FC at Barbourfields Stadium on Sunday. The club condemns the unsporting behaviour that negatively profiles Zimbabwean football as a brand. It is sad to witness such ugly scenes at a family sports event, especially at a time when the club, together with other stakeholders, is working tirelessly to bring fans back into the stadiums and convincing the corporate world that sport, in general, and football, in particular, is worth their support.”

Highlanders apologised to all its stakeholders, especially sponsors, partners, and innocent football-loving fans who were affected by the acts of a few selfish individuals who care less about the growth of their clubs and football in general. They also prayed for those who were injured and wished them a speedy recovery. The club also urged stakeholders to work together to find a lasting solution to hooliganism in football stadiums.

This is not the first time in two seasons that a match involving the two most followed clubs has been abandoned due to crowd trouble. Another fixture was abandoned in May last year when both sets of fans invaded the pitch. Highlanders celebrated an unorthodox celebration for a 93rd-minute finish by Washington Navaya that broke the deadlock, while Dynamos fans were protesting a referring decision over an incident leading to the goal.

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Zimbabwean youngster Jimiel Chikukwa has joined English National League side FC Halifax Town

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Zimbabwean youngster Jimiel Chikukwa has joined English National League side FC Halifax Town following his release by Championship side Watford.

The 20-year-old forward was unveiled by Halifax Town last week. ”We are pleased to announce that FC Halifax Town has signed Jimiel Chikukwa, who was recently released from Championship team Watford”. Chikukwa started his career in the Leeds United academy when he was only 13 years old. However, he decided to join Watford’s academy in the summer of 2021 when his contract with Leeds expired.

During his time with Watford, Chikukwa was loaned to Maidstone United in the National League South for the second half of the 2021/22 season. Although the Stones won the National League South, Chikukwa only made one league appearance before returning to Watford at the end of the season.

Town boss Chris Millington is optimistic about the future of new signing Jimiel Chikukwa.

Millington expressed, “He is a young and thrilling player who needs to demonstrate his abilities in senior games. However, he has shown tremendous potential, and we believe he will be an exceptional player for our team in the future.” Millington also mentioned that Chikukwa is versatile and can play in various positions, including anywhere in the front three and as an attacking wing-back.

We think he could pose a danger when playing as a number nine, but he could also be a threat when positioned on either wing. In our current formation, he might even excel as an attacking wing-back, similar to Angelo Cappello.

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Reims secures first win with Munetsi scoring his first goal

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Zimbabwe international Marshall Munetsi has expressed his delight after scoring his first goal of the season to inspire Stade de Reims to their first win of the season following a 2-0 victory against Clermont Foot in the second round of the French Ligue 1 on Sunday.

The 27-year-old midfielder was instrumental in ensuring Reims got its first win of the season after breaking the deadlock with a header in the 17th minute.

Denmark international Mohamed Daramy, a new signing from Ajax, added a second goal by converting a low cross from Junya Ito in the 84th.

Munetsi, who is flourishing in a more advanced role at Reims, had several opportunities to double his tally.

Probably his best chance of securing a brace came in the 76th minute when the Clermont goalkeeper Mory Diaw produced a double save to deny the Zimbabwe international what looked like a certain goal.

In the end, it was a successful day for Munetsi as he continued his solid start to the season by scoring a crucial goal to follow up on his contribution on the opening day of the season when he registered an assist during the 2-1 loss against Marseille in the first round of the season.

Afterwards, Munetsi took to social media to praise his teammates for putting on a solid display to register their first win of the campaign in their second match.

Great team performance @StadeDeReims to get our first win of the season at home. We keep going,” Munetsi said.

The former Orlando Pirates player is expected to play an important role for the Zimbabwe Warriors when they return to international football later this year in the upcoming World Cup Qualifiers.

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