Harare City FC
 Harare City FC Logo | |
| Full name | Harare City Football Club |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Sunshine Boys |
| Founded | 1989 |
| Ground | Rufaro Stadium |
| Owner | City of Harare |
| Chairman | Alois Masepe |
| League | Zimbabwe Premier Soccer League |
| Website | Club home page |
Harare City Football Club is a Zimbabwe Premier Soccer League football club owned by the City of Harare.
See Harare City.
Founding
Harare City was formed in 1989 by City of Harare employees. It's 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.
Events
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 (2009) they renamed 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 at the end of the 2011 season.In their debut season in the PSL, they finished a credible 8th on the standings. In 2012 they came number 2 losing the league title to Dynamos on goal difference.
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 have 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]
Franchise Hoax
The Zimbabwe Premier Soccer League side dismissed social media claims that the club has been disbanded and is up for sale. Social media was on Friday 29 January 2021 awash with claims that continued to claim that Harare City FC had been disbanded and that the club was now selling its franchise. Amidst confusion within the football circles regarding the welfare and future of players, authorities at the club came out to quash the social media claims.
“Our club is intact and has not disbanded as is being peddled in some circles. Probably these are people bent on causing mayhem within our club structures and disturb our players so that they can take advantage during this period and sign up our players. Our club is intact and our players still have running contracts so we are still there to play soccer and continue contributing to the development of the game in the country”
Having grown in leaps and bounds, the Sunshine Boys have emerged to be one of the strongest contenders in the domestic league and have won some trophies that include the Chibuku Super Cup. The club also produced top players who include Warriors and Lyon forward Tino Kadewere who has been making headlines in the French top tier league.[2]
Players
Harare City FC has produced top players such as Gilbert Mushangazhike, Tendai Mwarura, Herbert Zimbeva and David Sengu.
Officials
- Alois Masepe (Chairman)
- Stanley Ndemera (Vice Chairman)
- Matthew Marara ( Secretary General)
- Tendai Kwenda (Treasurer)
- Charles Kandemiiri (Legal Committee Member)
- Everisto Rukasha (Organising Committee Member)
Achievements
- 2013 ZPSL Most Disciplined Team
- 2015 ZPSL Most Disciplined Team
- Winning the Chibuku Cup in 2015
Pictures
Mayor Bernard Manyenyeni poses for a photo with the Harare City winners of the Chibuku Cup
Harare City Management
Harare City FC lineup
Harare City FC players in session
Harare City FC players helping clean the city
Harare City FC PLayers Madagascar
Harare City Players Pose for a Photo on a trip
Harare City Players Pose for a Photo
Harare City players on a trip
Harare City 02
Harare City Players
Harare City 01
Harare City Lineup
References
- ↑ Mafume cuts off Harare City football club funding; dismisses executive, New Zimbabwe, Published: 10 May 2023, Retrieved: 11 May 2023
- ↑ Skilder Makona, [1], ZBC News, Published: 29 January, 2021, Accessed: 29 January, 2021
