The association football champions of Zimbabwe are the winners of the highest league in Zimbabwean football, which is the Zimbabwe Premier Soccer League (ZPSL). The ZPSL was founded in 1980, after Zimbabwe's internationally recognised independence, as a successor to the Rhodesia National Football League, which started in 1962. Originally governed by the Zimbabwe Football Association – the renamed Rhodesia Football Association, created in 1965 – the ZPSL has run itself since 1993.
The first edition of the Rhodesia National Football League took place in 1962, when Bulawayo Rovers won both the inaugural league championship and Cup of Rhodesia to claim the Double in the first season of nationally organised competition in Rhodesia. Since then, the championship has been largely dominated by teams from the country's capital, Harare (Salisbury until 1982), and second-largest city, Bulawayo: all but three of the 50 championships contested in the country have been won by a team based in one of these two cities.
The record 22 titles won by Dynamos is more than twice as many as the number won by the second-most decorated, Bulawayo's Highlanders, who have won seven. Dynamos and Highlanders share the record for most consecutive championships won, each having won four titles in succession. Harare-based Dynamos are the most successful team in cup competition, with ten cup-final victories to their name, one more than CAPS United. Unlike the league, the cup has been won numerous times by clubs from outside the traditional centres of Harare and Bulawayo; provincial sides such as Hwange, Mhangura and Masvingo United have claimed the cup on multiple occasions. The Double has been achieved 11 times in Zimbabwean football; since Bulawayo Rovers won both the league and cup in 1962, the Double has been repeated by Dynamos (seven times), Zimbabwe Saints, Black Rhinos, Highlanders and CAPS United.
Champions
- Key
| † | Club won the Double (both league and cup) during that season |
| (number of titles) | A running tally of the total number of championships won by each club is kept in brackets. |
| (number of cups) | A running tally of the total number of cups won by each club is kept in brackets. |
Rhodesia National Football League (1962–79)
| Season | League champions (number of titles) |
League runners-up | Cup winners (number of cups) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1962 | Bulawayo Rovers (1)† | Salisbury City | Bulawayo Rovers (1)† |
| 1963 | Dynamos (1) | Salisbury Callies | Salisbury Callies (1) |
| 1964 | Bulawayo Rovers (2) | No cup held | |
| 1965 | Dynamos (2) | Salisbury City Wanderers (1) | |
| 1966 | St Paul's | Bulawayo Rovers | Mangula (1) |
| 1967 | State House Tornados (1)[B] | Salisbury Callies (2) | |
| 1968 | Bulawayo Sables (1) | Arcadia United (1) | |
| 1969 | Bulawayo Sables (2) | Arcadia United (2) | |
| 1970 | Dynamos (3) | Wankie (1) | |
| 1971 | Arcadia United (1) | Chibuku Shumba (1) | |
| 1972 | Salisbury Sables (1) | Mangula (2) | |
| 1973 | Metal Box (1) | Highlanders | Wankie (2) |
| 1974 | Salisbury Sables (2) | Chibuku Shumba (2) | |
| 1975 | Chibuku Shumba (2) | Salisbury Callies (3) | |
| 1976 | Dynamos (4)† | Dynamos (1)† | |
| 1977 | Zimbabwe Saints (1)† | Zimbabwe Saints (1)† | |
| 1978 | Dynamos (5) | Risco Steel (1) | |
| 1979 | CAPS United (1) | Zimbabwe Saints | Zimbabwe Saints (2) |
Zimbabwe Premier Soccer League (1980–present)
Total titles won
| Club | Winners | Runners-up | Winning seasons |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dynamos[2] | 21 |
9 |
|
| Highlanders | 7 |
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| CAPS United | 5 |
||
| F.C. Platinum | 4 |
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| Black Rhinos | 2 |
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| Bulawayo Rovers | 2 |
||
| Bulawayo Sables | 2 |
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| Chibuku Shumba/State House Tornados | 2 |
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| Salisbury Sables | 2 |
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| Zimbabwe Saints | 2 |
||
| Arcadia United | 1 |
||
| Amazulu | 1 |
||
| Black Aces | 1 |
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| Chicken Inn | 1 |
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| Gunners | 1 |
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| Metal Box | 1 |
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| Monomotapa United | 1 |
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| Motor Action | 1 |
References and notes
- Notes
- A ^ Dynamos Salisbury City and Salisbury United amalgamated to form Dynamos Fc
- B ^ (also sometimes referred to Salisbury Tornados) retitled themselves Chibuku Shumba between the 1967 and 1968 seasons.[3]
- C ^ Black Aces were founded in 1976 as a new incarnation of Chibuku Shumba when that club folded in 1975.[4]
- D ^ Chapungu United won the 1995 Cup of Zimbabwe by walkover after the semi-final match between Highlanders and CAPS United was declared void due to the fielding by Highlanders of an ineligible player. Left with no opposing team in the final round, Chapungu took the cup by default.
- E ^ Motor Action were formed in 2000, taking the place of Blackpool in the Premier Soccer League by buying that team's franchise.[5]
- F ^ The Mbada Diamonds Cup was launched in 2011, with the 16 teams from the Zimbabwe Premier Soccer League participating. The winner will qualify for the CAF Confederation Cup.[6]
- References
- ↑ Sharuko 2011
- ↑ "Zimbabwe (And Rhodesia) Champions".
- ↑ King, Ian (15 June 2005). "Rhodesia (Cup) 1968". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 3 February 2010.
- ↑ "Zimbabwe 1980". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. 23 April 2006. Retrieved 3 February 2010.
- ↑ Schöggl, Hans; King, Ian (4 March 2006). "Zimbabwe 1999/2000". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 3 February 2010.
- ↑ "Mbada Diamond Cup launched". Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation. 17 September 2011. Archived from the original on 15 April 2012.
- General references
- League records sourced to: Sharuko, Robson (23 July 2011). "Show Me Your Colour". The Herald. Government of Zimbabwe. Retrieved 27 October 2011.
- and: Schöggl, Hans (6 September 2011). "Zimbabwe (and Rhodesia) Champions". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 27 October 2011.
- Cup records sourced to: Schöggl, Hans (23 April 2010). "Zimbabwe (and Rhodesia) Cup Winners". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 27 October 2011.
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