By Obert Sithole
In a thrilling epic battle, four-time Castle Lager Premier Soccer League champions FC Platinum face off against fellow Platinum miners in a highly anticipated opening fixture of the 2026 season at Baobab Stadium on Saturday. It is the first time the two teams have met in the first week of the league. Interestingly, the fiercely contested derby will be presided over by new coaches. Joel Luphahla is the new FC Platinum coach, while Kumbirai Mutiwekuziva heads Ngezi Platinum Stars.
A circumspect Luphahla feels the derby will give him a valuable measure of his team’s preparedness. However, he thinks they will be able to come out of Baobab with maximum points.
“In terms of the game against Ngezi Platinum Stars, it’s a tough and unpredictable tie for us,” said Luphahla. “We would have wanted to start not with a derby, but the fixtures are here now. These crucial games have to be played. I know it’s going to be a challenging afternoon. We’ll be playing away. You know, we are saying to ourselves that we do not want to lose here at Mandava Stadium, because it’s our fortress, and I’m equally sure that it’s the same thing that’s being said there at Ngezi, that they don’t want to lose the game, so we are faced with a mammoth task.”
Luphahla went on to talk about their preparations.
“The preparations are going remarkably well. The boys have prepared very well and have immense enthusiasm. I’m confident that we’ll go there and get the required results. People say Ngezi lost a lot of key players, but to me, I feel that the core guys that make the team are still there, and they make a formidable team, and they have one of the best coaches, and I respect him greatly. It’s not going to be easy, but we are going to fight hard.
We have a dream within our club, and that dream to be realised is that we need to be winning away. So, first game in terms of match fitness and preparedness, we are not 100% sure, but it’s for all the teams, not FC Platinum. Because preparing friendlies might give you a different view compared to when it’s competition. Everybody there likes to think we are prepared, and I’m hoping that we have assembled a fairly good side, and we’re going to put smiles on the faces of the fans of Zvishavane, because that is all that we do while we are here – to make sure that the people of Zvishavane are happy.”
