Sports / Local
Bosso, Dembare Joshua Nkomo Charity Shield clash cancelled
18 Dec 2013 at 07:57hrs | Views
THE planned Joshua Nkomo Charity Shield match between Bulawayo giants Highlanders and Castle Lager Premiership champions Dynamos has been called off.
The match was supposed to have been played in a two-leg format with the first match being played in Harare and the second leg at Barbourfields Stadium on Unity Day, Sunday, but the organisers have since shelved the idea because of the unveiling of the late revolutionary leader's statue on the same day.
Chief executive officer of the Joshua Nkomo National Foundation Jabulani Hadebe yesterday confirmed that the Charity Shield matches had been put on hold.
"The Joshua Nkomo Charity Shield matches have been postponed because the programme of the unveiling of the statue that will take place on Sunday. The programme will be tight and, therefore, that match cannot be accommodated. However, the game is still going to be played because we feel it is very important," Hadebe said.
Hadebe had announced the plans for the matches to honour the country's late nationalist leader and vice-president during the awards ceremony of the Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo Half Marathon on September 30, saying the games had been agreed on in principle by all stakeholders, but they had not slated the date for the first leg.
The tournament being played on Unity Day, the day that marked the end of the civil strife that rocked Matabeleland and the Midlands - bringing together the ruling party Zanu PF and PF Zapu in when the Unity Accord was signed in 1987 - would be an apt to bring the country's biggest football clubs Bosso and DeMbare into duel.
Highlanders and Dynamos would have met seven times this year had the Charity Shield tournament been a success, with the Bulawayo giants having failed to account for their Harare counterparts since beating them in the Independence Trophy 4-3 in a penalty shoot-out in 2011 at the National Sports Stadium in Harare.
Bosso last beat Dynamos in a league match in 2006, when they last won the league title, which they narrowly surrendered to their perennial nemesis on the last day once more this season.
This year, the two giants first clashed in the two legged Bob89 Sup8r Cup with Dynamos beating Highlanders 2-1 at BF before pounding them 4-0 in Harare to lift the silverware 6-1 on aggregate.
They met again in the Independence Cup in April and Dynamos prevailed 1-0.
In the league the two sides drew 1-1 in Harare in April before Bosso lost to the Glamour Boys 1-0 in front of their home crowd through a late penalty in October.
The two sides, like last year when they were level on 69 points, were at par on 54 points, with Dynamos clinching the league title once again on a superior goal difference.
The match was supposed to have been played in a two-leg format with the first match being played in Harare and the second leg at Barbourfields Stadium on Unity Day, Sunday, but the organisers have since shelved the idea because of the unveiling of the late revolutionary leader's statue on the same day.
Chief executive officer of the Joshua Nkomo National Foundation Jabulani Hadebe yesterday confirmed that the Charity Shield matches had been put on hold.
"The Joshua Nkomo Charity Shield matches have been postponed because the programme of the unveiling of the statue that will take place on Sunday. The programme will be tight and, therefore, that match cannot be accommodated. However, the game is still going to be played because we feel it is very important," Hadebe said.
Hadebe had announced the plans for the matches to honour the country's late nationalist leader and vice-president during the awards ceremony of the Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo Half Marathon on September 30, saying the games had been agreed on in principle by all stakeholders, but they had not slated the date for the first leg.
The tournament being played on Unity Day, the day that marked the end of the civil strife that rocked Matabeleland and the Midlands - bringing together the ruling party Zanu PF and PF Zapu in when the Unity Accord was signed in 1987 - would be an apt to bring the country's biggest football clubs Bosso and DeMbare into duel.
Highlanders and Dynamos would have met seven times this year had the Charity Shield tournament been a success, with the Bulawayo giants having failed to account for their Harare counterparts since beating them in the Independence Trophy 4-3 in a penalty shoot-out in 2011 at the National Sports Stadium in Harare.
Bosso last beat Dynamos in a league match in 2006, when they last won the league title, which they narrowly surrendered to their perennial nemesis on the last day once more this season.
This year, the two giants first clashed in the two legged Bob89 Sup8r Cup with Dynamos beating Highlanders 2-1 at BF before pounding them 4-0 in Harare to lift the silverware 6-1 on aggregate.
They met again in the Independence Cup in April and Dynamos prevailed 1-0.
In the league the two sides drew 1-1 in Harare in April before Bosso lost to the Glamour Boys 1-0 in front of their home crowd through a late penalty in October.
The two sides, like last year when they were level on 69 points, were at par on 54 points, with Dynamos clinching the league title once again on a superior goal difference.
Source - newsday
