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Eddie Chikamhi-Senior Sports Reporter

DYNAMOS coach Tonderai Ndiraya says the Presidential Independence Day Trophy is always closer to his heart as the Glamour Boys look to defend the silverware against traditional football rivals Highlanders in this year’s final set for Barbourfields in exactly one month. 

The giants are set to clash in a third straight Independence Cup final on April 18. The high profile football match is billed to put the icing on the cake when the country comes together on the day to commemorate 42 years of Independence and national sovereignty in Bulawayo. 

The Government announced that President Emmerson Mnangagwa will grace the football match as the guest of honour and hand over the Presidential Independence Day Trophy to the winners. 

Ndiraya yesterday said DeMbare cannot wait for the final, which has been taken to Bulawayo for the first time in many years. 

“We have always played exciting matches against Highlanders,” said Ndiraya. 

“I am told that it is going to be played in Bulawayo. It’s new to us to play a cup final in Bulawayo and I also want to give credit to the Government for breaking away from the “tradition” and putting that final in Bulawayo. 

“So it’s going to be a change of environment in that cup final and we are so excited and can’t wait to play the final at Barbourfields.” 

Dynamos and Highlanders, as the two biggest teams and widely supported teams in the country, have featured in the previous two finals of the invitational tournament. 

DeMbare won the trophy last year when football returned for the first time following a one-year hiatus because of the Covid-19 pandemic. 

They beat Highlanders 2-0 at the National Sports Stadium, with Trevor Mavhunga scoring the opener before Peter Muduhwa’s second half own-goal. 

The tournament was not played in 2020 because of the pandemic. Highlanders won it in 2019, also by a 2-0 margin, thanks to second-half goals from Bhukhosi Sibanda and Tinashe Makanda. 

Dynamos are the most successful club in the Independence Day Trophy, having won 10 titles since Independence and playing in seven other finals. 

Bosso have seven Independence Day Trophy successes to their name and are the second most successful. 

But for Ndiraya, this tournament is more than about winning the silverware. It is also about national pride and the commemoration of his father who died during the war of Independence, when he was still a toddler. 

“The Independence Trophy is a very important trophy for us for obvious reasons. We are celebrating our Independence as a nation but most importantly for me I will be commemorating the loss of my father. 

“I lost my father during the liberation struggle. I always take this trophy seriously because it’s got some significance to it. We are always ready and prepared. 

“We are the current holders and we would really want to retain the cup and keep adding more trophies into our cabinet. So we are very excited. We can’t wait to play Highlanders on April 18th. 

“Our hope is that we get into that match in good form. So we are going to try the best we can so that we get into that cup with good results which can give us confidence to go for it and win it,” said Ndiraya.

The Government announced that the cup final will take place in Bulawayo, where the national Independence Day celebrations will be held for the first time, in line with the Second Republic’s drive towards the promotion of national unity, devolution and decentralisation. 

This year’s event will be held under the theme “Zim@ 42- Leaving no one and no place behind”. 

The 2022 Children’s Party and 42nd Anniversary Independence Day Celebrations will be held in strict observance of all Covid-19 protocols in the efforts to avoid the spread of the respiratory disease. 

There will be a massive Covid-19 testing exercise in Bulawayo during the Independence Day Celebrations. Only those who are tested and are negative will be allowed to attend the celebrations.