Harare City FC Poised for Surprise PSL Comeback

Harare City FC is on the brink of an unexpected return to Zimbabwe’s Premier Soccer League after Harare City Council quietly moved to acquire a top-flight franchise from newly promoted Marondera outfit FC Hunters.

Sources with direct knowledge of the matter say the agreement was concluded on December 11 at Town House in the early afternoon. The deal is understood to involve a blended settlement, with FC Hunters’ shareholders receiving both a cash component and residential land allocated by the municipality.

However, Harare Mayor Jacob Mafume has urged caution, stressing that while initial engagements may have taken place, the transaction has not yet been finalised and remains subject to full council approval.

“There are laid-down procedures we follow as council,” Mafume said. “We were already competing in the league with the aim of getting back into the Premier League. Where teams above us face challenges, we have an obligation to take steps once it is clear they cannot fulfil their requirements.”

Should the move be ratified, it would bring FC Hunters’ brief stay in the top flight to an abrupt end, barely weeks after the club clinched promotion as 2025 Pacific Storm ZIFA Eastern Region Division One champions. Their triumph sealed by a 2–1 win over Tenax FC at Rudhaka Stadium in October had marked Marondera’s first representation in the Premier Soccer League since Zimbabwe’s independence in 1980.

Mafume acknowledged that groundwork may already have been completed but reiterated that the final word rests with the full council.

“Some preliminary matters could have been signed off,” he said, “but anything involving council must still be tabled and approved. Until that happens, the process is not complete.”

Relegated from the PSL in 2022, Harare City FC would return to elite football after nearly three seasons outside the top tier. If confirmed, the Sunshine Boys face a daunting start to the 2026 season, opening at home against league runners-up MWOS FC, before travelling to Shamva to take on bronze medallists Simba Bhora. Encounters with FC Platinum and reigning champions Scottland FC follow in the early rounds.

The development comes amid ongoing speculation surrounding FC Hunters’ financial capacity to sustain top-flight football. The club has repeatedly dismissed reports of salary arrears and financial strain, recently reaffirming its commitment to grassroots development, upgrades at Rudhaka Stadium and plans for end-of-season awards. Nonetheless, the franchise sale would relieve the Marondera side of the heavy financial demands associated with Premier Soccer League participation.

For Harare City Council, the move reopens a long-standing and contentious relationship with professional football. Harare City FC has previously been criticised for consuming public funds amid allegations of poor governance and weak commercial viability.

In May 2023, Mafume suspended council funding to the club, citing operational irregularities. A year earlier, councillors had rejected a proposal to channel US$2.3 million into the team over six months, arguing that limited resources should be directed towards essential service delivery.

The council has also come under fire for the continued deterioration of Rufaro Stadium, where drainage problems have disrupted matches and eroded potential revenue streams.

Despite those challenges, the potential acquisition thrusts Harare City back into the Premier Soccer League spotlight reviving ambitions on the pitch while once again placing the municipality under scrutiny over its stewardship of football and public funds.