Zimpapers Logo

Prophet Magaya

Robson Sharuko Senior Sports Editor
WHEN Jorde Marco Bergoglio, a former night club bouncer, became Pope Francis in March last year, his favourite football club had a few months earlier battled a relegation play-off to remain in the Argentina Primera Division.
The club was reeling in debts of around £12,3m and the future looked bleak.
But two months after Pope Francis’ papal inauguration, San Lorenzo were crowned champions of Argentina.

Pope Francis’ favourite club — which he has supported since his boyhood days in Buenos Aires — had just completed a fairytale campaign, from flirting with relegation at the beginning of the season to becoming champions at the end.

In December last year, on the occasion of the Pope’s 77th birthday celebrations, some San Lorenzo players and officials were at the Vatican and brought the trophy they won as league champions to celebrate with their most famous fan.

But the best, in the club’s stunning revival since the Pontiff’s election, was yet to come.
Last month, San Lorenzo ended a lengthy wait for the one big trophy that had eluded them for over a century — the Copa Libertadores — when they beat Nacional of Paraguay to be crowned champions of South America for the first time in their history.

The Pontiff has kept his close and official links with San Lorenzo alive, since taking over as head of the Catholic Church, and his club membership subscription is up to date, paid every month by a debit order arrangement.

Last month, the Pope backed an inter-religion charity match in Rome, which attracted a number of football superstars, past and present, with his countryman Diego Maradona stealing the show.

“Tonight’s match will certainly be an occasion to collect funds and support, but above all to reflect on the universal values which football and sport in general can promote — loyalty, sharing, welcoming, dialogue, trust in the other,” the Pope said in a recorded message.

“It’s about values which join every person regardless of race, culture and religious belief.”
The best compliment to a Pope, whose love for football has been a public affair, was given by legendary Italian ‘keeper Gianluigi Buffon.

“With a Pope like this, it’s easier to be better. He shows us the way, he warms hearts, he moves people’s souls,” said Buffon.
Former Premiership champions Gunners have their own religious man to show them the way, warm their hearts and move their souls, whose arrival into their corner earlier this year, as the team’s chief financier, has seen a dramatic change in their fortunes.

The Zifa Northern Region leadership, too, have also found their religious shoulder they can lean on in a landmark season for them in which they have transformed their league from one that had no sponsor to one that now has three sponsors.

With time, probably, Zimbabwe football, just like San Lorenzo, will have a powerful religious ally who can help transform it from being a perennial under-achiever into a giant ,with the Warriors tracing their treks back to the days when they were the feared Dream Team.

Walter Magaya, the Prophetic Healing Deliverance leader, is a religious leader who divides opinion; it’s not easy to work and walk in the public eye, like he does on every single day, and get everyone to embrace you as a good man.

He will get a lot of people who question him, but it’s nothing new.
The bible tells us that even Apostle Thomas had his doubts when told by the other disciples that they had seen the Lord Jesus Christ, replying to them “Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.”

On that phrase, a whole generation of Doubting Thomases was born.
Magaya, whose Yadah TV blazed a trail by pumping US$30 000 into the Yadah TV Knock-out Cup for the Northern Region Division One teams, strongly believes that Zimbabwe football is badly contaminated by Satanism and juju.

“I realised that football is being dominated by Satanism and I want to strongly believe that football is also dominated by juju,” he said at the launch of his tournament.
“So, the reason I’m sponsoring football is to encourage people to pray, to encourage people to seek God.

“We believe that it (sponsoring a tournament) is a way for us to spread the Gospel. There are many ways of spreading the Gospel and we verily hope and trust that at the end of the tournament, many people would have been touched by our gospel and surrender their lives to Jesus,”

“As a ministry, we are trying to bridge the gap . . . I strongly believe that football is being dominated by Satanism, juju.
“I was watching the World Cup, the issue of (Luis) Suarez (biting Italy’s Giorgio Chiellini). I was shocked with the tattoos on the back of players. I said ‘if Satan is in football, God can also play football’.”

Magaya has ventured into areas that other religious leaders haven’t — plunging into the country’s number one sporting discipline and hoping to make a difference both with his sponsorship, which has transformed Gunners, and his teachings which have given the team a religious outlook.

And the testimonies have been coming from the Gunners coaches and players.
“We believe the church has played a vital part in our results because if you look at it, we lost our first match to Bindura United and I think everyone was ruling us out, but now people will realise that by the grace of God we can achieve anything,” Gunners coach Kuda Masaraure, whose team leads the Division One race, said.
“We go to church as a team and we don’t see anything stopping us. With God, I think we can maintain our position.”

Gunners’ marksman Moses Demera is the leading goal-scorer in the league.
“When I was with Rhinos in Kariba, the man of God phoned me and said he was taking over Gunners and he wanted me to come back,” said Demera.
“We grew up in the same neighbourhood with the prophet in Chitungwiza. By the grace of God, I think I will be somewhere.”

San Lorenzo fans believe Pope Francis has been the spiritual hand that has transformed their team into champions of South America.
Magaya’s influence in Division One has already been tremendous, but, clearly, he is a man who believes that he needs to serve a bigger constituency, his country, and if you look at where our football is right now, it’s a game that badly needs all the blessings it can receive.

Even Peter Ndlovu, the greatest Warrior of all-time and the national team’s most successful skipper, seems to agree.
“If I had known God in my career, I would have been a better Peter Ndlovu and with Zimbabwe being led by a God-fearing captain, we could have played up to the World Cup,” said Ndlovu.