Former Green Fuel star defender Tatenda Gora believes his recent move to Botswana top flight league side Gaborone United is a stepping stone towards achieving his football dream of playing football abroad.
The last couple of years have seen a meteoric rise of the 25-year-old defender, who was playing Division One football in the country in 2022.
Gora helped Green Fuel win the Eastern Region Division One league title in 2022 and earn promotion into the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League.
After a slow start in the league, Green Fuel managed to survive relegation with Gora starring at the heart of the defence as the team finished in 10 place on the 18-team log standings.
Green Fuel managed 12 clean sheets on their way to 43 points from 34 games.
And Gora managed to attract the attention of the seven-time Botswana league title winners and made a switch during the January transfer window on a short term contract.
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"This is a big step for me towards achieving my football dream so I am excited to have signed my first contract outside the country. It is my dream to reach beyond expectations with my career and play English football," Gora told The Sports Hub.
"It is also my dream to play for my country and hopefully this move will help me to get noticed by the coaches and be considered for the Cosafa Cup this year. I feel great indeed joining the Money Machine (Gaborone United) as we know its a big team in Botswana and on the continent
"I was pushed into joining this team because of its record of silverware and they usually take part in the Caf Champions' League and Caf Confederations Cup. Botswana is on the rise as a football country so I feel this is a step up for me," he added.
Gaborone United qualified for the Confederations Cup last season and were knocked out by SuperSport United 4 - 1 on aggregate in the second preliminary round.
Currently the team is sitting in third place in the league with 28 points from 14 matches, seven behind log leaders Jwaneng Galaxy.
Gora, who has already played three times for the team is looking to help Gaborone United win some silverware this season.
He also speaks about his experience in the league so far.
"My personal target in Botswana for the remainder of the season is to help my team collect as many clean sheets as possible by the end of the season and also to make sure the team at least gets one of the silverware," he said.
"So far so good I am enjoying playing in this league and I am coping very well with the system of play here. As you know every house you visit there are rules and regulations, I wasn’t aware of the two consecutive yellow cards result in suspension so I was suspended after my second game. But now I am glad I'm back and made it in the starting line up."
Gaborone United's match against Nico United on Friday was abandoned with the team leading 1 - 0 following an electrical fault with the floodlights.
Gora’s career began in the dusty streets of Chitungwiza when he was just nine years old at Young Stars Academy under Shingirirai Foundation in Chitungwiza.
He has since played for Karoi United, Beta XI and before joining Green Fuel in 2022 when the team was still in Division One.