Why do they support Highlanders?

By Mbekezeli Ncube

AS one once said everything happens for a reason, Bosso TV takes a look at the reasons why some of the Bosso faithful support the Bulawayo giants. How did it start?, Is it because of family tradition? Did they support to oppose a friend who supports another team of any other reason?

'I support Highlanders from the heart and with passion, it is the team I grew up supporting, and also being based in Bulawayo hence Highlanders has a huge fan base in the City of Kings. It started when I was in primary when my family used to take me to Barbourfields. I can say it's a family thing but it has grown to be more personal. All my friends support it even some of them are who Shona speaking but the fact that they grew here, they support it,' said a Bosso fan who only preferred to be called Ndex.

Tshilamoya was established in 1926, the team is the oldest football club in Zimbabwe. It is also the second most successful team (after Dynamos) in the country as far as premier league titles is concerned having claimed seven championships, four of them consecutively.

Another staunch Bosso supporter who identified himself as Elvis Malisa insisted that no one had to convince him to follow Amahlolanyama.

'Even though there are some staunch Highlanders supporters in my family, supporting Bosso was a decision I made by myself at school. I fell in love with the team during my primary school days, when the likes of Zenzo Moyo, 'Biya' (Thulani Ncube) among others were playing for the club. There was this Highlanders bulletin which we read at school sisase ngabafana (while we were still young boys) and we liked the stories to the extent that we started calling each other by the names of Bosso players,'

'At one time, we created two soccer clubs at school and the other one was called Highlanders. My friends are also Highlanders supporters although my wife always finds a different team just to oppose me for the sake of opposing,' said Malisa.

Thulani Ndlovu said he started following Bosso at a tender age of seven at his rural home in Matabeleland North Province.

'I think I was around seven years old at my rural home in Tsholotsho. My father who worked in Bulawayo and usually came home on weekends. He bought those radios of long ago and it happened that one day Bosso was playing against Zimbabwe Saints and he was listening to the game on radio. When I asked what was happening he told me that IBosso iyawina (Highlanders is winning), that's when I heard those names like 'Jujuju', 'Mabaleka' and Tany Banda.'

'He then convinced me that Highlanders was the team to support and from that day we always reminded him to bring us old newspapers where we always tried to identify every player in the black and white colours of the club,' said Ndlovu.

Among other Highlanders honours is the Zifa Cup a competition they clinched two times (1990, 2001), Independennce Trophy eight times (1986, 1988, 1991, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2011 and 2019), Charity Shield five times, Chibuku Cup five times, Mbada Diamonds cup once among others.

Dumisani Moyo also revealed that he was born in a Highlanders supporting family.

'First of all, when I was born my parents followed with keen interest the exploits of the likes of Madinda Ndlovu. My father used to sing Highlanders songs for me when I was young. Even if Bosso loses and get to the lowest division in football I have no other team to support besides it. I love it to the extent that when they lose I don't eat well at home because of loss of appetite, I sometimes feel sick when they lose,' said Moyo who also said all of his friends support Highlanders even though some of them don't know the players of the club.

Moagi Sibanda said supporting Highlanders came naturally with the love of the game. As an aspiring footballer in his school days, playing for Bosso was always a dream for him just like most young boys in the city of Bulawayo.

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