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Grace Chingoma Senior Sports Reporter

THE trailblazing Class of ‘79, Steve Kwashi’s “Immortals’’ of ‘96, Charles Mhlauri’s back-to-back champions and Lloyd Chitembwe’s conquerors of 2016.

The Cup Kings, the Green Machine, Makepekepe, Shaisa Mufaro and the Manchester Road Boys.

Shacky “Mr Goals’’ Tauro, Joel “Jubilee’’ Shambo, Stanley “Sinyo’’ Ndunduma, Friday “Breakdown’’ Phiri, Joe “Kode’’ Mugabe, Alois Bunjira, Stewart “Shutto’’ Murisa, Lloyd Chitembwe and Joseph Kamwendo, to name but a few.

Everyone has a piece of history of CAPS United Football Club who celebrate their Golden Jubilee this year.

Makepekepe at 50!

In the year that Dynamos are marking their 60th anniversary, CAPS United are celebrating their own milestone as they turn 50 this year.

The Green Machine are planning to celebrate their 50th anniversary in style and a number of events are being lined up for this year.

The major thing for the club would be to lift the league title in their anniversary year. And Makepekepe are also planning to host various activities such as the CAPS United Golf Day.

They will also host the main event for the anniversary. CAPS United chief executive, Charlie Jones, said he will release the main programme for the celebrations this week.

CAPS United are not leaving anything to chance as they seek to host a perfect programme. Their rivals, DeMbare, have set up a 26-member anniversary organising committee that has been tasked with organising the commemoration for the 60 years in existence.

The Glamour Boys marked their 60th birthday on January 18 and quietly celebrated the day. They have reserved the grand celebration for a later date when the committee, chaired by Denford Mutashu, launches the programme.

However, CAPS United doesn’t have the actual date when the club was formed but only the year 1973. So the club will choose when they can celebrate their Golden Jubilee this year.

Veteran sportscaster Charles “CNN’’ Mabika says the club was in existence since 1967 as a recreational entity.

“They were in existence from 1967 as a recreational entity but in 1973 they became a fully constituted team. They started as a recreational entity at Manchester Road under the tutelage of the late Alois Patsika. He was the figurehead in getting people interested in playing football mainly the employees at CAPS Holdings.

“Hermes Pharmaceuticals was a subsidiary of CAPS Holdings and the team used the name Hermes Football Club in their formative years in the lower divisions. They were promoted from Division Four and the following year they were promoted to Division Three until they were promoted into the then Super League in 1977 under coach Dominic Nyamimba. He is also the man who discovered Shacky Tauro,” said Mabika.

“When they got promoted they were now CAPS Rovers. I think a year after playing in the lower divisions they became known as CAPS Rovers. They became CAPS United in 1979. It was a blessing in disguise because that was the same year they won their first league title under the late Lovemore “Mukadota” Nyabeze and the late Ashton “Papa” Nyazika,” said Mabika.

Makepekepe went on for 16 years before winning their second league title in 1996 under the late Steve “The Dude’’ Kwashi.

“I think CAPS United definitely grew to be one of the biggest brands in Zimbabwe alongside Dynamos and Highlanders. They were definitely the Cup Kings of Zimbabwean football. At one time they won the biggest knock-out tournament, the ZIFA Cup, from 1980 to 1983 in succession,” said Mabika.

Mabika said the late Tauro is CAPS United’s finest player, according to the majority of their fans.

“They have produced some of the greatest names in Zimbabwean history with their finest ever player being Shacky Tauro. Although the Herald Sports Editor Collin Matiza reckons that Joel Shambo was the finest player at CAPS United. There are also two other names that fans refer to as the finest players that is Stanford “Stix” Mutizwa, the late Stanley “Sinyo” Ndunduma. Personally, for me the finest ever player was Stix Mtizwa,” said Mabika.