Posted on: January 16, 2019 12:40 PM

The 2019 football season in Zimbabwe will see a new team in the Mashonaland East Division Two: Anglican Saints, owned by the local Anglican diocese of Harare. Anglican Saints will eventually be part of the new diocesan university being built in Mashonaland East, but until that is built, it will use the Greendale Sports Club as its home ground. The team will be managed by Lawrence Nyarumwe, a former assistant coach with Zimbabwe Premier Soccer League side Shabanie Mine, assisted by Basil Makoni. The team aims to climb the leagues to play in the top division within two years.

The Zimbabwe football season runs from April to November. Anglican Saints’ chairman, Jonh Remba, told The Herald newspaper that the side will be holding trials to recruit 28 players for the season. “The motive is to keep our youths busy with sport and stay away from drugs and alcohol abuse”, he said. “The team is owned by the church with the sitting bishop as the patron of the club.

“We intend to have 70 per cent Anglicans and at least 30 per cent who can come from any other congregations. . . Our mission is to play in the top-flight in the next two seasons or so with our immediate task being to make sure that we qualify for Division One.”