Can Zimbabwean clubs bounce back after recent poor results?

Something's broken in Zimbabwean football, and we all know it. Dynamos went out of Africa early again. Highlanders spent most of the season looking lost. CAPS United barely scraped mid-table. These aren't just bad results. They're symptoms of something deeper.

I was at Barbourfields last month. Half-empty stadium for a match that should've packed the place. The fans who showed up spent more time complaining than cheering. Can you blame them? We remember when our clubs actually competed in Africa, when scouts from bigger leagues paid attention. Now? Most of the excitement has moved elsewhere. Even the diehards who bet on soccer have shifted focus to European leagues because watching our domestic games has become frustrating. The quality gap isn't subtle – it's glaring. We're not just losing matches. We're losing relevance.

Why money isn't the only problem

Everyone points to finances, and sure, that's part of it. Players going unpaid. Old equipment. Budgets that wouldn't run a school sports program. But here's what nobody wants to say: Kenya deals with similar pressures, and their clubs still show up in Africa. Zambia isn't flush with cash, yet they produce players who move to decent leagues. So what makes us different?

Leadership. Too many clubs are run by people who see football as a stepping stone to politics. Board members rotate with government changes. Nobody plans beyond the next election. You can't build anything lasting with that mentality. Youth development has collapsed. The academies that used to feed the national team? Most are shells now. Kids train without proper coaches or equipment. The talented ones leave for South Africa the moment they get noticed because staying means stagnation.

And the infrastructure. Stadiums that hosted major matches in the 90s are falling apart. I watched a match last season where the ball got stuck in a rut three times. How are players supposed to develop skills on surfaces like that?

The numbers don't lie

Season	CAF entries	Group stage	Best result
2020	2	0	Out in preliminaries
2021	2	0	First round exit
2022	2	1	Group stage (bottom)
2023	2	0	First round exit
2024	2	0	Preliminary round

Look at that. We're not competing – we're just showing up to get knocked out. Even when we made the group stage, we finished last without winning. These aren't unlucky draws against giants either. We're losing to clubs from smaller countries with similar problems.

Attendance tells its own story. Dynamos used to average 15,000 at Rufaro in the early 2000s. Last season? Under 3,000. The Derby used to shut down Bulawayo. Now you can buy tickets at the gate.

Everyone's leaving

Every transfer window we lose players. Not to Manchester United – that would at least mean we're producing quality. We're losing players to Botswana clubs. To Zambian teams. To South African sides nobody's heard of.

Khama Billiat made it big and should've inspired investment in finding the next one. Instead, it convinced every talented kid the only way forward is leaving. And they're right. A reserve player in South Africa earns more than our starters. It's a death spiral. Best players leave, quality drops, fans stay home, revenue falls, clubs can't invest, more players leave. Breaking that needs everyone working together. Which isn't happening.

Can we actually fix this?

We can, but it requires changes nobody seems willing to make. Start with leadership. Get actual football people running clubs, not politically connected businessmen. Youth development has to become the priority. We can't buy our way out with our budgets, so developing talent is the only option. Get into schools. Scout rural areas. Create pathways from academies to first teams. Fix the matchday experience. Security matters. Working toilets matter. People won't come back to stadiums that feel unsafe or neglected.

Think of sponsorship in a new way. Concentrate on the expatriates. Individuals from Zimbabwe residing overseas remain concerned. Create offerings that are viewable digitally. Sells goods all over the world. Change the way the league is set up. Get to the playoffs. Work with leagues that are better run for exchanges. Cooperate with leagues that are better organized for exchanges.

The hard truth

Can our clubs bounce back? Technically yes. Realistically? Not without major changes I don't see happening soon. This isn't a slump we'll ride out. It's decline built over years of neglect. The talent exists. The passion exists. You see it in packed bars during Warriors matches, in kids playing barefoot in townships. What we lack is structure, leadership, vision to channel all that into something sustainable. Tanzania turned their football around in five years with deliberate investment. Rwanda did similar. But they had government backing and continuity we don't have right now.

The future gets decided by actions taken today. Or more accurately, by actions not taken. That's the real problem. We're not making decisions. We're just reacting, surviving, hoping things somehow improve on their own. They won't.