Simba Bhora’s debut campaign in the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League had a lot of excitement around it when the season started back in March.

The Simba-Ndoro owned side were in the spotlight during and after their triumphant Northern Region Soccer League campaign in 2022 and the buzz around the team was palpable.

Finally, a team from Shamva was set to rub shoulders with the best teams in the country and football fans in the gold-rich town were intrigued.

But one game into their debut campaign in the country’s top-flight, Simba Bhora got the sad reality that excitement does not win games and were beaten by FC Platinum in the most humbling fashion at the National Sports Stadium.

Ronald Chitiyo had thrust Tonderai Ndiraya’s charges ahead with a brilliant volley in the second half, before Juan Mutudza scored two headers in quick succession to turn things around for the platinum miners.

It eventually was a tough season for Simba, who ended up fighting relegation despite Ndoro’s pre-season ambition of challenging for the championship, having spent thousands of dollars in bringing to the club players with Premiership experience.

Despite the setbacks in what was a very tough debut campaign, the Simba Bhora executive is still determined to have their hands on the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League trophy.

“The club president (Ndoro) is in actual fact prepared to see to it that the team becomes a competitive side in regards to championship considering that we have survived our maiden appearance in the last season,” declared club spokesperson Charles Nyatsine.

“I believe as our debut appearance we were learning a lot from administration and all.

“As you know, football is not played on the field of play only, it covers a lot of things ranging from supporters and administration.

“There are a lot of things involved, from how you manage your funds, as well as how you treat your players and their well-being.

“We have actually learnt a lot from other teams and from our own mistakes so that we can change for the better,” he added.

Many believe Simba’s struggles in their debut campaign in the PSL, were aggravated by failure to play their home games at Wadzanai Stadium in Shamva —their home ground since Division 2.

The stadium is currently being renovated to meet PSL standards and Nyatsine expressed confidence Simba will play their home matches in the mining town next season.

“It is everyone’s hope, from the the executive to the fans, that we play our home matches in Shamva,” said Nyatsine.

“We are moving at a slow pace but I’m sure in January,  we will speed up the process so that we reach the targets in time for next season,” he added.