Harare City
Harare City is a Zimbabwean football club based in Harare. They play in the Zimbabwe Premier Soccer League. Their coach is Mark Mathe who took over after the departure of Mark Harisson.
See Harare City FC.
Events
The club was formed in 1989, as the brainchild of two Harare Municipality staffers, Messrs Chinengundu and Thomas. The project was mooted as a recreational pastime for the city council’s workers who began playing in the Harare Social League, under the name City of Harare FC. Four years later, the club applied for affiliation into the ZIFA Division 3A League and stayed there for two seasons, winning promotion into the Division 2A League in 1995. Due to financial constraints, City of Harare FC rejoined the Harare Social League where they played for five seasons before joining the Highfield Area Zone League in 2000. The club even had a change of name for two years (2000–1)- "Bhanya Mulenge FC" – before reverting to their original name (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 (2009) they renamed the franchise to "Harare City FC". Under coach Arthur "Tuts" Tutani, the club gained promotion into the Northern Region Division One League in 2010. Unfortunately, Tutani left the club to join Monomotapa FC. His replacement, Bigboy Mawiwi, led "The Sunshine Boys" into the top-flight Premiership at the end of the 2011 season. In their debut season in the top flight, they finished a credible 8th on the standings. A year later they agonizingly lost the league title on a dramatic last day – falling out to Dynamos on goal difference. Since its formation, the club has produced youth and senior national team players – Gilbert Mushangazhike, Tendai Mwarura, Herbert Zimbeva and David Sengu.
In May 2023, the CoH stopped funding Harare City, the football team, pending an internal audit. Irregularities in the football club’s operations were cited. Also, the CoH lacked funds. Many residents had been saying football is not the responsibility of the council. Harare City football club was draining council funds which should have been channeled towards improving service delivery. At one point Harare City football Club required more than half a million United States dollars annually. Harare City women’s team is in the topflight league.
All funding will cease with immediate effect until such anomaly is corrected. When an interim executive will be put in place to conduct and also consider whether it is necessary to keep funding a football club at this point. It might not be necessary but we have to look into that. “An audit must also be instituted as to the use of funds that they have been given. For the avoidance of doubt the people that have been relieved are the current executive and even its secretariat. Our mayoral mansion where that club is housed must as of immediate effect be returned back to the city and municipal police must be put there.
said Mafume. [1] Sports teams
- ↑ Mafume cuts off Harare City football club funding; dismisses executive, New Zimbabwe, Published: 10 May 2023, Retrieved: 11 May 2023
