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Innocent Kurira, Sports Reporter

IT’S A GOOOOOOOAL!
Entire suburbs would erupt simultaneously to celebrate exploits on a field of play hundreds of kilometres away. People who never set foot in stadiums became pundits of the game through listening to spot-on picturesque commentary by yesteryear radio greats.

Even the elderly in the rural areas would accurately dissect the strengths and weaknesses of coaches and teams by religiously listening to football commentary on the radio.

One would be spoilt for choice of the matches they wanted to listen to. At intervals, a listener would switch radio stations just to check the score line. Radio was a must-have gadget for every serious football fan.

Rural folks were not left out. They went all the way to the shops to spend the afternoon listening to matches on the only available radio receiver in the village. At around 3 PM, it was common to see a group of men glued to a small receiver elevated on a “pedestal” for all to hear well.

So known were the voices of commentators such that fans would identify them by the pitch of their voices. Talk of the voices of Charles Mabika, Evans Mambara, Inglam Nyathi, Kingsley Sibanda and Eric Knight and Ezra Sibanda. The list is endless as one tries to name these men who deservedly earned the tag of being radio legends of our time.

They immortalised the world’s most beautiful game by peppering blow-by-blow accounts of events on the field of play, with the most vivid superlatives. Yesteryear fans can describe some of the most memorable moments in local football as if they watched them on big HD screens through the legends’ commentary.

Literally, tens of thousands of people started going to stadiums to watch soccer matches so that they could see their idols in person. Radio was like the hype master that made fans want to see actual matches.

From pre-independence, commentators made the game of football worthy to listen to. They grew the sport using the power of their voices. As many fans found love and entertainment, and have never looked back.

They still follow football, thanks to Charles Mabika and crew. You would not have missed an inch of the action even if you didn’t go to the stadium. Those voices drew emotions, leaving a listener so attached to the game.

Football-loving Zimbabweans listened to match coverages from Mhangura, Gwanzura, Sakubva, Hwange and Maglas at the touch of a dial. Aptly put, radio commentary was the go-to “shop” for any fan.

From listening to radio commentary, some fans confess to having idolised football stars they never saw in person. Some never got to watch Peter Ndlovu or Stanley Ndunduma or Joel Shambo, but they would tell you every bit about the players’ exploits, all courtesy of knowledge from the radio match coverage.

Tragically, local football has divorced itself from radio commentary. The breakup of the relationship between PSL and ZBC is shrouded in mystery. Fans who only rely on the radio for updates are now forced to wait for results after 5 PM when the matches are finished.

No more Mabika, no more Muziwethu Hadebe on the radio. The biggest loser has been the game and the fans. Yes, football has always been Zimbabwe’s favourite pastime, it is our nation’s weekend delight.

The lack of football on the radio has been blamed on the apparent growing lack of interest in the local game of late. PSL chairman Farai Jere is on record for saying football has been trying to find its footing after Covid-19 challenges and radio commentary was needed back.

“We hope to see football supporters come in huge numbers. We need those full houses back and also radio commentary is needed back to help us see more fans coming back. We are missing the voices of renowned radio football commentators that include Charles Mabika and Archie Mundava,” said Jere.

Football commentator Sakheleni Nxumalo says things have never been the same without radio commentary. “In the years football has not been on the radio platforms the interest died down because it has contributed to some extent to the dwindling numbers of those that attend the matches. When I was in Harare, I met Joel Mahlangu’s brother and he tells me he started following Highlanders when he was a herd boy in the rural areas. He used to listen to football on what used to be known as the People’s radio. These radios were slightly bigger than walkie- talkies, and he would carry the radio with him and go to herd his father’s cattle. On Sundays, he would listen to football commentary and he fell in love with Highlanders and Madinda Ndlovu.

“There are people with so many such experiences who have never set foot into Barbourfields Stadium but they can tell you about Highlanders, Zimbabwe Saints, Amazulu and other teams. There are people who are ardent Dynamos and Caps United fans who have never been to a topflight game but follow football commentary. The advantage with radio is that even someone who is illiterate or even someone who is blind can follow,” said Nxumalo.

As much as radio has a huge role to play in marketing the local game, Hadebe feels there is more that can be done to revive the fans’ love of the most beautiful game.

“Radio does help enhance the marketing of the league no doubt about that, I however believe that the market has changed. It all depends on who your target market is. So, before we even talk about the radio or any y other platform, we should answer the question: what has the league or the clubs done to market the league in the case of PSL and the clubs themselves in the case of the 18 clubs?

“We should also ask ourselves where the market is and which market we are targeting. I believe we have failed to answer those questions. As a result, our biggest challenge is that radio or no radio, we have failed to market or spread our football, instead, we tend to market a product of the sponsors/ partners in the name of marketing our football.

“With radio or without radio, we could have still tried to market our football better if we really wanted to. Radio only enhances an already well-packaged product. We have failed to package our football as a product and any short-cut will not help us address the situation. That’s my view. This is where I am saying it enhanced a product that was already packaged but was the only platform perhaps at the time,” said Hadebe.

— @innocentskizoe