MARONDERA- The Marondera District Pool Association (MDPA) league is now set for the home
stretch with the top four teams from the two sub-leagues clashing in a Top 8 round robin to
determine the 2022 overall champions.
The league is made up of Marondera East and West Diamond sub-leagues with 12 and 11 teams
respectively.
In the Marondera East league, Red Bar were leading the log with 51 points from 22 games and only a
point separated them from second-placed Cherima. Gango and Brilliant Masters made up the top
four although Fire Power are still with a chance to force their way into the top four as only two
points separate them from the fourth-placed side.
Other teams that are part of that league are Makotore, Unimax, Jazz, Hustling Lions, Marondera
Municipality, Taguta and Lily Tsimba.
The Marondera West league was led by King Kong who have 47 points from 20 games. Second-
placed Nyameni Tigers have 42 points from the same number of games while King Tite (40 points)
and Chikomo (33) completed the top four.
Kingwill, ZRP Hustlers, Leopards, Sponono, Grasslands, Njanji and MS complete the list of teams in
the league.
MDPA chairman Laxon Zimene told this publication that the battle to determine the overall
champions is already underway.
“We are now getting to the Top 8 Clash of the Giants and it involves the top four teams from the
Marondera East and West leagues. These games will be played on a round robin format spread over
three weeks and the team that will emerge victorious after that will be crowned the 2022 Diamond
champions.
“I can confirm that the top eight teams are Marondera’s Charisma, Brilliant Masters, King Kong,
Nyameni Tigers, King Tite and Chikomo as well as Red Bar and Gango from Macheke,” Zimene said.
He highlighted some of the challenges that have been faced by the league, with the main one being
lack of corporate sponsorship.
The MDPA boss said: “Lack of sponsorship makes it hard to run the sport efficiently. However, we
have focused on building an attractive and competitive brand which is now ripe for corporate
backing. We had our inaugural MDPA Cup which was bankrolled by T&C from Macheke and we hope
that more companies will back us next season.
“Most teams in our league are self-sponsored and this has proved to be a nightmare. Unfortunately,
one of our teams, Patsime, folded mid-season and the demise of that club is attributable to a lack of
sponsorship. We are planning to have trainings for clubs’ leaders on what strategies they can make
use of to run their clubs profitably so that they can depend on begging for sponsorships.
“The other challenge that we faced was having to strictly adhere to COVID-19 protocols during
matches and initially, this proved to be a hindrance to the flow of the league. However, we were
assisted on this one by the Sports and Recreation Commission (SRC) and at the same time, we
always urged all players and administrators to be vaccinated.”
Zimene applauded clubs for their commitment and instilling discipline within their rank and file as
this helped to uplift the playing standards in the league.
He said: “We witnessed very few cases of indiscipline this season as compared to seasons gone by.
Part of this can be attributed to the high level of umpiring as a result of regular clinics undertaken.
Having said that, there is still room for improvement and we will organise more trainings for our
umpires as well as administrators and players.
“The high level of commitment and participation by the teams in the league can never be
overemphasised. New teams were particularly focused and exciting. We were able to start a weekly
tournament which is held every Sunday and is open to all. We also introduced the Masters, Ladies
and Super 16 tournaments and we will soon introduce an Under 23 tournament. The introduction of
the MDPA Cup which was open to all clubs was a game-changer and the association will build on its
success next season.”
According to Zimene, they managed to introduce leagues in other districts and are hoping that
Mashonaland East province will unleash the best pool players onto the world.
“Generally 2022 has been eventful. We hope to have national champions as we continue to tap and
harness talent in Marondera and Mashonaland East as a whole. It is pleasing to note that we
managed to start leagues in Mutoko, Murehwa and Hwedza districts. Next year, we will focus on the
remaining districts in the province so that cue sport is well organised, played and appreciated,” he
added.
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