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Ricky Zililo Senior Sports Reporter
ZIFA Southern Region League champions Bulawayo City will unveil some players that will join them for the 2016 Premier Soccer League season at their awards ceremony at the Small City Hall tonight. The banquet is meant to reward the players for winning the Southern Region Soccer League championship and to market the club to potential sponsors.

City’s chairman Jerry Sibanda said the stage is set for tonight’s event.

“This is a time to honour the players and the technical team for a splendid job they did to get Bulawayo City into the PSL in a single attempt. We’ve set aside six individual accolades. Apart from presenting awards, we will market the team to potential partners, whom we’ve invited,” said Sibanda.

“Those who will attend the ceremony will also have an opportunity to know some of the players that we’ve closed in on as well as the 18 that we’ve released as we move to strengthen our team. We’re going into the PSL to stay and that’s why we’ve been trying to speed up the recruitment process so that come January, we hit the ground running.”

Former national team striker Simba Sithole, who had stints with South African side Ajax Cape Town and Highlanders, is among the 18 players that were axed by City.

Some of the players the municipal side has been targeting include the Bulawayo Chiefs’ trio of goalkeeper Wallace Magalane, attacking midfielder Ishmael Wadi and utility player Proud “Sjankala” Zireni as well as Highlanders’ midfielder Edmore “Digo” Muzanenhamo.

However, FC Platinum have beaten City for the services of Wadi and Magalane, who passed their medical tests at Zvishavane-based side on Tuesday. At the awards ceremony striker Qinani “Chroma” Sibanda will walk away with the club’s top goal scorer award after netting six goals.

Captain Xolisani “Scara” Moyo, who joined the club from PSL side How Mine at the beginning of the year, could walk away with two accolades, the Players’ Player of the Year and the Player of the Year.

Moyo was inspirational in City’s campaign, with his experience acquired from his stints with Chicken Inn and How Mine coming in handy as he guided the ambitious local authority bankrolled club to the PSL.

The midfield trio of Innocent “Joker” Kutsanzira, Eddie Nkulungo and Humphrey “Muchichwa” Ncube as well as the promising Trevor Ndlovu also had a fantastic season. Nkulungo and Ncube also scored five goals each during their campaign, while Kutsanzira was voted into the Southern Region Soccer League’s best 11 players’ list.

Other awards include the Most Disciplined Player, Most Improved Player and Most Promising Player.