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ORGANISERS of the Esrom Nyandoro football memorabilia auction have pegged the minimum opening bid of US$10 000 for the legendary former Warriors’ captain’s number 3 jersey he wore in the AFCON finals opening match against Egypt in 2004.

The starting line-up had Energy Murambadoro, Dumisani Mpofu, Dazy Kapenya, Kaitano Tembo, Charles Yohane, George Mbwando, Lazarus Muhoni, Tinashe Nengomasha, Agent Sawu, Peter Ndlovu and Nyandoro.

The Warriors lost 1-2 to the Pharaohs despite drawing first blood through a Ndlovu goal in the 46th minute.

Nyandoro said the boots he wore when Zimbabwe beat Algeria in the last match at the same tournament would also go under the hammer. The auction, set to be conducted via Nyandoro’s Instagram page, will be held on Monday next week from 8pm and will feature Nyandoro himself, Tapiwa Virima, Vimbai Musvaburi and former Miss Zimbabwe Samantha Tshuma.

Also set to be auctioned will be Nyandoro’s Mamelodi Sundowns jerseys and boots which will be sold to the general public, where each bidder is expected to pay a R1 000 participation fee. A maximum of 200 participants will be allowed.

Spokesperson for the auction organisers, Musvaburi, said the Warriors’ jersey auction will be by invitation and participation fee is US$1 000. “We are all ready and those that want to take part can get in touch through the following numbers 0786129755 or 0782339671 where they will be duly assisted,” said Musvaburi. A Warriors’ jersey sold for US$10 000 in June last year.

Tino Machakaire, now the Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation Deputy Minister, bought the jersey at a function held at a Harare Hotel in honour of the Warriors’ participation at the 2019 Nations Cup finals.

“It’s for the Warriors. We should feel proud to be Zimbabwean. The President has supported the team and we should also play our part to support his vision,” said Machakaire, who is also the Member of Parliament for Wedza South Constituency and director of Tinmac Holdings.

“Sport plays a huge role in uniting a nation. We should all play our roles and make sure that sport thrives in this country.’’

With the organisers of the auction on Monday having set a base price of US$10 000 for Nyandoro’s 2004 AFCON jersey, it remains to be seen how much it will eventually be sold for.

However, as shown by the events in June last year, there are a lot of Zimbabweans ready to support such initiative in a big way and the football stars have charmed the nation with the way they are confronting the COVID-19 pandemic.

Meanwhile, former Warriors captain, Willard Katsande, has joined the #Onemillionmasks and sanitisers campaign that is being fronted by Zimbabwean model, Samantha Tshuma. The campaign, part of moves to flatten the Covid-19 curve in the country, has targeted to raise one million masks and sanitisers that will be distributed throughout Zimbabwe.

“Me and you have a role to play to save lives. I urge everybody in our country to support the one million masks and sanitisers campaign. I am here supporting that,” said Katsande.

“I challenge four players, Khama (Billiat), Knox (Mtizwa), Onesimo (Bhasera) and Kuda (Mahachi) to donate as I have already made my donation. Together we can pull this, together we can beat this.’’—  Bulawayo Bureau/Mailonline.