Former Warriors attacker Ovidy Karuru is headed for a Castle Lager Premier Soccer League return with Yadah as the club’s owner Walter Magaya targets big name players in order to improve the profile of the league and attract more spectators at the stadia.
The club unveiled marquee signing Khama Billiat on Thursday after beating off competition from Dynamos and Manica Diamonds for his signature.
Karuru, who has played in Belgium and South Africa, is currently clubless, but is set to sign with Yadah.
Magaya believes bringing back big names to the Premier Soccer League will result in fans trooping back to the stadiums as match attendances have dwindled over the years.
Yadah signed former Warriors and Kaizer Chiefs star Billiat in a one-year US$50 000 deal that also has other lucrative benefits, including a luxury vehicle.
After Khama was unveiled at Yadah’s home, Heart Stadium, Magaya said: “The biggest ambition is just to bring back joy in the PSL. We believe that we should bring a bit of leadership and bring back people to support soccer; that is our main aim. That is why there is the Heart Stadium. The look is not basically on Yadah, but on the joy that should be found in the PSL. That is what we are aiming to bring that excitement back to football.”
He added: “If you see how people were attending football matches last year, it was not encouraging. We believe that bringing back these heroes of football may bring back the supporters to the stadiums. That is our prayer and our aim.”
Another former Warriors star who is back in the country is Kuda Mahachi, who joined Manica Diamonds after a short stint in Ghana.
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The former Mamelodi Sundowns and SuperSport United player was tipped to join Dynamos, like Billiat, but landed in the Eastern Highlands.
Magaya believes Heart Stadium could host PSL games five weeks after the start of the season.
“We believe that we will play here in the fifth game of the season if not our third game against Dynamos. As you can see, we are doing renovations everywhere, where we are putting our gates,” Magaya said.
He said they are finishing up on the main changing room at the stadium and if they are done, the facility will have a capacity to host 13 000 fans.
“We believe that within a space of four to five weeks, we will be done and we will be able to host our games here. The bucket seats for the other side will be arriving in two weeks time, to make the stadium reach maybe 10 000 to 13 000 (capacity). We will see as the material comes. That is our biggest target now,” he said.
On Khama, Magaya said: “Khama has always been here with the national team. When I was supporting the national team some six years ago, he stayed here, he is very close to my son, so we have been speaking with Khama. His return is to resuscitate his career. He is 33, but if you look at his body, trust me he can go seven or 10 more years because of his structure and type of bone allow him to be very mobile and also to carry some energy because he is not as huge as I am ... we expect that Khama will become the greatest.
“We don’t need to keep him for long. If he performs well and other big teams want him, we agreed that we can let him go. Our aim is just to bring the spark and continue to do the same.”
