Bwera Ufe stadium comes to life
by MELODY DUBE
HWANGE – FOR years, the dream of having a football stadium in Inyathi, a rustic mining area in Bubi district had remained far-fetched for the locals.
With a landscape dotted with mining shafts, weathered buildings and communal settlements, Inyathi is one of the many marginalised rural areas in Matabeleland North where sporting infrastructure is rare.
Yet, thanks to the collective efforts of a local mining company and members of the local community, a much prized and adored football stadium is finally taking shape.
Named Bwera-ufe or Turk Mine stadium, the sports facility is located between Turk Mine and Casmyn Mining Limited, two well-known mining companies in the area. The name ‘Turk Mine stadium’ is derived from the stadium’s location, whereas Bwera-ufe, the actual name of the facility, originates from the team’s slogan, bweraufe meaning ‘come and perish’.
Once completed, the stadium will be the first and only existing sports facility properly constructed in this part of the country and will be the home ground for Casmyn Football Club.
Formed in 2015, the team started by participating in the local league known as ‘NyaFa’ (Inyathi Football Association) before advancing to the ZIFA Southern Region Division 1 soccer league where they have kept their spot for five seasons. The new stadium is expected to boost their performance.
Community involvement
According to the team’s first assistant coach, Austin Lamzere, work on the stadium commenced last year on January 19 and could not have succeeded without community involvement and support. Local men, eager to see their dream stadium come to life, volunteered to help clear the land with Casmyn Mining Limited providing heavy earth moving equipment to level the ground.
Local women also came together to transform a barren Bwera-ufe pitch into a lush green oasis by planting the lawn.
“Last year we completed the league playing on a dusty pitch, but as for this season, you can see we now have a proper pitch,” noted Bhekinkosi ‘Hoye’ Mguni, one of Casmyn FC’s talented players, his face beaming with a smile.
CAF games
A lot, however, still needs to be done for Bwera-ufe to meet the standards required to host Premier league matches, in case the team secures a promotion from Division 1.
Stands that can accommodate home and away fans, and standard dressing rooms as well as lights are required.
“At the moment we are able to host Division 1 matches, but our aim is to have a stadium that will be approved for use even by CAF,” said assistant coach Lamzere.
He added their main goal as a club was to transform Inyathi into a sporting hub, replete with proper development teams from under 10, 15, 17 and 20 as well as having a women’s team.
“We will continue to scout, to host trials and to sound the call for all football players who wish to make a career out of sport to come and join us,” said Lamzere.
Ekem Makonese, the team manager for Casmyn FC noted the team had made tremendous progress in grooming talent that could otherwise not have had a chance to shine.
“We have produced players like Brian Muza who now plays for Chicken Inn FC. We also have Tatenda Ushe who left last season for Bulawayo Chiefs and Chrispen Ncube who is a former Highlanders FC player,” he said.
Their next destination for scouting talent is Somvubu High school, a local school famously known for producing the warriors forward, Prince Dube who currently plays for Young Africans S.C in Tanzania.
As this year’s Division 1 league wraps up, Casmyn FC bows out in an honorable fourth position just behind Nkayi United FC, Hwange FC as well as the log leaders, Bulawayo Chiefs FC.
