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Talent Chawapiwa

Grace Chingoma, Harare Bureau
ZIMBABWE international forward Talent Chawapiwa has revealed he settled for South African Premiership side Baroka FC because he wants to play for a club where he is guaranteed game time as he begins his adventure in a foreign league.

There has been a scramble for the 25-year-old forward after his exploits for the Warriors at the 2017 Cosafa Castle Cup where he was the outstanding player of the final which Zimbabwe won after beating Zambia 3-1.

Chawapiwa scored two stunning goals for the Warriors in the semi-final and final and provided an assist for Ocean Mushure in the final.

Yesterday, he signed a three-year contract with Super Diski side Baroka FC despite increased interest from a number of suitors who included ambitious Zambian club Lusaka Dynamos.

The Zambians were ready to splash, at least, $125 000 to secure Chawapiwa’s signature after they made a late bid to bring the exciting forward into their camp.

But Chawapiwa resisted the lure of the Zambians and, instead, decided to sign for Baroka FC by penning a three-year deal with the South African side yesterday.

FC Platinum president George Mawere, one of the best football administrators in the country’s top-flight league, attended the signing ceremony in Harare yesterday.

Chawapiwa’s manager Calvin “Currypie” Nyazema, who is also the manager of Zimbabwe international midfielder Archford Gutu, also attended the ceremony while Baroka FC chief executive Morgan Mammilla represented his club after flying in from South Africa.

Baroka will have the first option to extend the relationship by a further two years should the club believe they still need to retain the Zimbabwean forward at the end of his contract.

However, the general expectation is that Chawapiwa will, by then, have been snapped by a bigger club either in South Africa or outside that country.

“I am super excited. It is an achievement and a breakthrough I have been waiting for,’’ Chawapiwa told our sister publication The Herald yesterday.

“I am positive about the whole deal, it’s a stepping stone for me. They have just told me that they have great plans for me if I play well.

“Game time is important for me. I believe I have to create a name for myself first and then more opportunities will come my way.’’

The forward, who began his career at Sprouting Football Club, which is owned by Nyazema, while in Form 3, said when he went to South Africa with the Warriors squad he never expected to generate the interest that he has sparked in that country and in Zambia.

Baroka chief executive Mammilla said the player had been on their radar for a while but his outstanding performances at the Cosafa Cup jolted them to act swiftly.

“We have been following the boy but we were convinced during the Cosafa Cup matches that he is a gem. He is quick, plays fast football, I am sure he will adjust to our system.

“We know that a lot of teams were chasing his signature but talked sense to him that he is not going to sit on the bench but he is going to play.

“We have another Zimbabwean on our ranks, Marshal Munetsi, on loan from Orlando Pirates so that now makes it two players from this country.’’