African Sports Insights

HARARE - Marian ‘Mario’ Marinica has stepped down as head coach of the Zimbabwe senior men’s national football team, the Warriors, just five months after taking charge. The 59-year-old Romanian coach’s resignation was confirmed by Zimbabwe Football Association in a statement released on Monday, citing “personal reasons” for his departure. “The Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) announces that Marian Marinica has resigned from his position as Head Coach of the Zimbabwe

BY ENOCK MUCHINJO HARARE – Zimbabwe international Tapiwa Mafura has been released by Lions in South Africa and will head home to join the national team’s early preparations for next year’s World Cup in Australia. A reliable source in Harare told SportsCast on Wednesday that the Sables star fullback has left the Johannesburg franchise at his own request after failing to get game-time for a prolonged period. Mafura was believed to be on his way to Europe or switching team

The following is a verbatim excerpt from a conversation between record-breaking ex-Springbok wing Tonderai Chavhanga and SportsCast founding Editor Enock Muchinjo following confirmation this week of World Cup-bound Zimbabwe’s curtain-raiser match against South Africa ‘A’ for the Springboks versus Barbarians clash on 20 June in Gqeberha (formerly Port Elizabeth), South Africa. Tonderai Chavhanga (third from left; front row) as Zimbabwe's assistant coach during the SuperSport

South Africa A have made a welcome return to the rugby calendar. SA A will take on Zimbabwe in Gqeberha on 20 June in a curtain-raiser to the Springboks’ opening match of the season against the Barbarians. The last time SA A team took the field was during the 2022 end-of-year tour against Munster and the Bristol Bears. With the 2027 World Cup in sight for both the Springboks and the Sables – who qualified for the international spectacle for the first time since 1991 – t

Blessing Muzarabani ‌has been banned from the Pakistan ⁠Super League (PSL) ⁠for two years after the Zimbabwe fast bowler joined Indian Premier League (IPL) side Kolkata ⁠Knight Riders, despite having agreed to play for PSL team Islamabad United. The 29-year-old, ⁠who went unsold in the IPL and PSL auctions, was signed by Islamabad, but he chose to play for Kolkata instead as the IPL franchise’s ‌replacement for Mustafizur Rahman, who was released following instructions from

Bath’s 1997/98 season is best remembered as the year they became the first English champions of Europe. But, privately, it was also the time when the genesis of an idea that transition play could be coached was planted in the mind of the one of the club’s overseas signings, Kennedy Tsimba. As the first black player to captain the Zimbabwe in 1998, Tsimba already had a track record in breaking new ground. But lately he’s become a pioneer in coaching transition, the grey area b

HARARE – Zimbabwe will next month compete in the Unity Cup 2026 in London — the first time Zimbabwe have played in England in a tournament of this nature. The Zimbabwe Football Association confirmed on Wednesday that the Warriors have been included in the four-nation tournament to be held at The Valley, home of Charlton Athletic FC, from May 26 to 30. Zimbabwe will face Nigeria in the opening semi-final on May 26, with Jamaica taking on India in the other semi-final on Ma

BY TINO MOMBESHORA HARARE – I love a nice story, a fairytale, especially one of an emerging Zimbabwean sporting talent of extraordinary talents. So when I first came across the excitement surrounding new Highlanders and Zimbabwe hot-shot Mongameli Tshuma, I was caught up in the euphoria. I like to hear such kind of stuff. It’s easy to like this rising attacking midfield maestro. Mongameli Tshuma is a unique and charming local name. He’s a local lad, from Bulawayo, h

BY ENOCK MUCHINJO HARARE – The Annual National Sports Awards (ANSA) is supposed to be the biggest celebration of Zimbabwe’s finest sports stars of the year, an occasion where excellence is feted and honoured. This momentous awards ceremony, which dates back decades ago, has in the past carried enormous prestige as it recognised and rewarded only the best that the country offered across the different sporting disciplines. It has however long lost its lustre, one of the c

BY SPORTSCAST WRITER Some of the squad's younger players pose for a photo after the big win on Tuesday. HARARE – Zimbabwe rugby team assistant coach Ricky Chirengende says the tour to Louis Trichardt is giving uncapped younger players an opportunity to showcase what they can potentially bring to the Test side. An entirely locally-based squad mixed with senior Sables stars and emerging players – playing as Zimbabwe ‘A’ – is on a two-match tour of the South African town as

BY SPORTSCAST WRITER HARARE – Given his peerless all-round talent, Zimbabwe’s newest sporting hero Brian Bennett could well have been a prolific point-scorer in the green-and-white jersey of the Rugby World Cup-bound Sables. The Southern African country’s T20 World Cup star is instead now a prolific run-scorer for the national cricket team, popularly known as the Chevrons. Flyhalf, Bennett’s position in his rugby days, is the heartbeat of the team, the play-maker, the m

BY NIGEL NYAMUTUMBU HARARE – A draw in the battle royale of Zimbabwe's traditional football giants, Dynamos and Highlanders, was without doubt the fairest result. Not that it is a result that both teams wished for. Until the last minute, you could tell that both teams were searching for that sucker punch that would not only earn three points and bragging rights, but also the nation’s pride. Yes, the nation's pride. Dynamos and Highlanders are not just footballing inst

South Africa's Tristan Stubbs and George Linde walk off the field after their cricket win despite the heroics of Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raza (centre) [Manish Swarup/AP] DELHI – South Africa survived a brilliant all-round show by Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raza to record a five-wicket win over their neighbours and set up a T20 World Cup semifinal against New Zealand. South Africa survived an early wobble to overcome the spirited Zimbabwe, who scored 153-7, in their last Su

BY SPORTSCAST WRITER HARARE – Zimbabwe Rugby Union (ZRU) interim committee chairman Paddy Zhanda Jr and the association’s new General Manager TJ Chifokoyo (pictured) are representing Zimbabwe at a landmark Rugby Africa AGM in Uganda on Friday, the first following the Southern African nation’s historic return to the World Cup since 1991. It is Rugby Africa’s biggest meeting in the history of the confederation, which is undergoing marked transformation under the leadership of

CHENNAI – Brian Bennett (pictured) vs Jasprit Bumrah. Pressure? What pressure? Bennett sends the white ball flying over the wide long-on boundary. More than 27,000 spectators at Chepauk are stunned into silence. India are not used to seeing their bowling spearhead being treated this way. Bennett raises his third fifty-plus score in his last four innings in this T20 World Cup across varied conditions in Sri Lanka and India. His team-mates in the dugout are up on their feet

HARARE – The Zimbabwe Rugby Union (ZRU) has announced a major two-year partnership with CFAO Mobility Zimbabwe, which will see the leading automotive company become the official transport partner of the Sables. The partnership comes as Zimbabwe intensifies preparations for its return to the global stage at the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia. With focus now shifting firmly towards building a competitive squad for 2027, the partnership provides critical logistical suppor