Seven matches into the season, the picture at Scottland FC is starting to look less like a title chase and more like a recalibration of priorities.
Club president Scott Sakupwanya has made it clear that the early noise around a league push will not define their season.
Instead, the focus has shifted inside the camp, with attention moving towards cup competitions and the financial rewards that come with them.
“The only thing we are not prioritising this season is the league,” he said
“We don’t want people to think that because we won last year, we will automatically win it again. This year there is strong competition.”
The biggest target now is the Mutapa Cup, where a prize of around one million United States dollars has put added weight on knockout football.
“Everything that is called a title, we are going for it. The Mutapa Cup, especially the one-million prize, we are going for it.
The Independence trophy has also been marked as a key objective, with the president openly expressing the desire to lift it on a symbolic national occasion.
“We are going to win the Independence trophy. On the day we celebrate our liberation, I want us to lift that cup. Next time you speak to me, I’ll be in the office with it. Watch this space.”
The message from the top is not one of retreat, but of redirection. The league is still there, but it is no longer the central obsession it might have been at the start of the campaign.
He added that even a lower league finish would not be seen as a failure if it helps the club grow in other areas. Investment in infrastructure and stronger sponsorship is being positioned as part of the long-term plan, with ambitions tied to building a more sustainable base for future dominance.
“Even if we finish eighth on the log, we still want to learn. But once we have our own stadium and strong sponsors who can invest around three million US dollars, then you are going to see Mabviravira.”
Scottland remain in the mix. After seven games, they sit fifth on the table following a goalless draw away to Bulawayo Chiefs FC at Barbourfields Stadium. They are three points behind early leaders CAPS United, still within touching distance of the top in the early stages of the season.
