By Michael Kariati
Dynamos have revealed they are going to celebrate a belated 50 years of existence after failing to do so at the turn of their Golden Jubilee in 2013 due to the none availability of funds.
The chairman of the club’s Board of Directors, Benard Marriot Lusengo said it would not be proper to allow 50 years to just go by without remembering the good days they have gone through in the five decades.
“We have achieved a lot in the past 50 years and the whole Dynamos family feels we need to go down memory lane. We are going to have a huge celebration day at the end of the season when there is no pressure,” said Lusengo.
The chairman of the club’s marketing committee Ignatius Pamire said they could not hold the celebrations during the qualifying year of 2013 as they did not have the funds.
He revealed that with the little resources they had, it would have been unwise and unfair to do so when players were going for matches without receiving their allowances or bonuses.
“I hope the team will win the league championship as this will add glitter to the celebrations,” said Pamire, who at one time also served as club secretary before becoming chairman.
At the moment, Dynamos lead the 16-team Castle Lager Premier Soccer League race with 43 points from 23 games, two ahead of second-placed ZPC Kariba, and four above bitter rivals Highlanders who host ZPC Kariba today.
Should ZPC Kariba lose and Dynamos win against Shabanie Mine, they will extend their lead at the top of the PSL three.
Pamire, who leads a four-member team that also includes civil aviation consultant Lloyd Hunda, marketing executive Spencer Manguwa, and car dealer Enock Jokomo said the response from their financiers has been good, adding that they are still trying to tie one or two loose ends to ensure that everything is ready for the celebrations.
Dynamos are without doubt the most successful team in Zimbabwean football. Apart from the 21 league titles and countless knockout championships, the team has also been Zimbabwe and one of southern Africa’s flag bearers in pan African football.
In fact, they rank as the second most successful team from the southern African region, just behind Orlando Pirates of South Africa.
While Pirates won the then Africa Cup of Club Championship title in 1995 and a CAF Champions League final place in 2012, Dynamos also reached the final of the Champions League in 1998 and the semifinals 10 years later.
That is not all.The Glamour Boys, as they are affectionately known, went as far as the mini league stage of the CAF Champions League in 1999 and 2010.
Dynamos also produced arguably the greatest ever player to have graced Zimbabwean football stadiums in the form of George Shaya, a five-time Soccer Star of the Year award winner.
In Freddy Mkwesha, who played in Portugal for 13 years, they also had the first Zimbabwean export to Europe while the first player to ply his trade out of Zimbabwe also came from Dynamos in the form of Patrick Dzvene who in 1964 played for Ndola United in Zambia.
Dynamos were formed in 1963 when a group of players broke from the then white dominated Salisbury City and Salisbury United to form their own team with Sam Dauya as the first secretary of the club. Nercasio Murambiwa who had heard of the Russian team Dynamo Kiev suggested that the team be called Dynamos, and in 1965 and 1966 won back to back titles.
Among that first group of players were the likes of Marriot, Obediah Sarupinda, Dzvene, Jimmy Finch, Jairos Banda, Richard Chiminya, Denver Mahachi, Danny Thomas, Shacky Chitimbe, Morrison Sifelani and Josia Akende. Standard
