After more than five decades in oblivion, one of the country’s former football champions ST Paul's Musami are set for a sensational return to the domestic scene.
St Paul's Musami became defunct four years after winning their first championship in 1966.
It was the first league championship win by a team outside Harare and Bulawayo.
For 51-years the team held the record for a team outside to the two cities to ever win the league title, the record was finally broken in 2017 when FC Platinum were crowned Castle Lager Premier League Champions.
As part of preserving the club’s legacy and history, St Paul's Musami is set for a return.
Timothy Gowo who is spearheading the revival of the St Paul's Musami football club confirmed the return of the club in the forthcoming season.
“We are very excited to announce that St' Paul's Musami will be bouncing back on the local scene this season,” said Gowo.
St Paul's Musami will mark its return on the domestic scene with a dance in the Zifa Eastern Region Division One Soccer League.
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“We have successfully affiliated with the Zifa Eastern Region Division One and St Paul's Musami will be participating in the league this year,” said Gowo.
Gowo revealed that the St Paul's Musami will be using the St Paul's Musami ground which the team was crowned champions at in 1966.
The refurbishments of the stadium are already underway, after the club partnered with a construction company Atticus Private Limited.
“We are happy to have partnered with Atticus Private Limited in the refurbishment of the St Paul Musami.
“We are confident that by the time that the season kicks-off in April all work on the stadium will have been concluded and we (St Paul's Musami) will host our matches at our fortress,” said Gowo.
As part of the refurbishments of the stadium, Atticus Private Limited who are into construction of modern buildings have already started building of new dressing rooms at the stadium, installing new lawn, setting up of an outfield and infield perimeter fence.
Atticus Private Limited, Operations Manager Nigel Chimbwanda expressed his delight with partnering St Paul's Musami FC in its revival.
“We are proud to partner with St Paul's Musami FC as it is a club with rich history and our CEO hails from Mashonaland East where the club is based.
“As part of our partnership with the St Paul's Musami, we will make sure that we set up an international standard stadium in Murehwa,” said Chimbwanda.
Chimbwanda revealed that sport infrastructure development is one the areas they have set their target on.
“We have been doing community based activities for a long time around the country where we donate donate food stuffs and blankets to the elderly every year.
“As part of us empowering the young we have since partnered with Bulawayo City to construct a state of the art multipurpose center,” said Chimbwanda.
On empowering the youths through sport, Gowo revealed that St Paul's Musami which gave birth to some of the greatest footballers to ever emerge from the country will be prioritise the rural child in its recruitment exercise.
St Paul's Musami is credited for launching the careers of James Nxumalo, Jawett Nechironga, Felix Mbidzo and five-time soccer star of the year George Shaya.
“St Paul's Musami has a history of unearthing some of the football greats that this country has witnessed in a bid to continue with this legacy we will be giving the rural child an opportunity to showcase their talent, who knows we might have another crop of players coming from ST Paul's Musami,” said Gowo.
As part of their talent identification, St Paul's Musami has already held youth tournaments in Murehwa.
