CAPS United F.C. is a

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

club based in

Harare Harare (; formerly Salisbury ) is the capital and most populous city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of 940 km2 (371 mi2) and a population of 2.12 million in the 2012 census and an estimated 3.12 million in its metropolitan ...

. Formed in 1973, the team rose to prominence in the late 1970s and early 1980s. It was formerly nicknamed the Manchester Road Boys because of their former address. The team's current nicknames are "Makepekepe" and "Green Machine". Caps United was also known as the "Cup Kings" as they were known to perform well and win cup competitions.

History

The team is popularly known as the "Cup Kings" or "Makepekepe" due to their dominance in most cup tournaments. They are Harare's second most popular team after their rivals

Dynamos F.C. Dynamos Football Club (also referred to as The Glamour Boys or De-Mbare) is a Zimbabwean professional football club based since 1963 at Rufaro Stadium, Mbare, Harare. The team currently participates in Zimbabwe's top-tier, the Premier Soccer L ...

, whose fans refer to them as "Madzvinyu" (Lizards). While CAPS United have fewer trophies than Dynamos, they have produced some of the country's best players, including legends

Shacky Tauro Shackman "Shacky" Tauro (28 June 1959 – 17 June 2009) was a Zimbabwean football player and coach. Career Playing career Tauro, who played as a striker, spent his entire professional career with CAPS United, and also earned international cap ...

and Brenna Msiska, along with other great players. In 1972, Maurice Kraemer decided to start an official football outfit to entertain workers at Central African Pharmaceuticals, a business based at Manchester Road. Just one year later CAPS Rovers was registered as a team in the Northern Region. Coach, Steven Kwashi led the team to victory in the 1996 championship. In 2004, Charles Mhlauri took over the club, winning back-to-back championships with the club only losing one game in 2004; a 4–3 home defeat to

Highlanders F.C. Highlanders FC is a Zimbabwean football club based in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, formed in 1926 that plays in the Zimbabwe Premier Soccer League. It is also known colloquially as iBosso. Founded in 1926 as Lions Football Club, composed mainly of boys ...

in a thrilling game at the National Sports Stadium. On 30 August 2010, Lloyd Chitembwe's 20-month stint as CAPS United's head coach ended when his contract was terminated by mutual consent, following a poor run of results that had sparked a rebellion among the club's fans. On 12 January 2012,

Sean Connor Sean Connor (born 12 July 1967) is a Northern Irish Association football, football manager (association football), manager and former player who was most recently manager of NIFL Championship side Institute F.C., Institute. He had a brief playin ...

was appointed manager. Due to the large fan bases and the passionate rivalry between CAPS United and the Dynamos, their games are referred to as the "Harare Derby", and they attract huge crowds. As for other rivalries, the matches between CAPS United and

Bulawayo Bulawayo (, ; Ndebele: ''Bulawayo'') is the second largest city in Zimbabwe, and the largest city in the country's Matabeleland region. The city's population is disputed; the 2022 census listed it at 665,940, while the Bulawayo City Council cl ...

side Highlanders FC have been dubbed the "Battle of the Cities". In the past, these matches have been associated with violence with the match at

Barbourfields Stadium Barbourfields Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, home to Highlanders FC. It is currently used mostly for football matches. It is owned by Bulawayo City Council and is home to Highlanders F.C. Highlanders FC is a Zimba ...

in 2004 being abandoned due to crowd trouble in the 88th minute after CAPS United came from 3–1 down to level the match at 3–3.

Crest

File:CAPS United.png, Former logo File:CAPS United (logo).png, Present logo

Management

*Manager: Shakespeare Chinogwenya *Assistant Manager: Nelson Matongorere *Assistant Manager: Fungai "Tostao" Kwashi *Assistant Manager: Tonderai Marume

Honours

*BP Cup:4 :1996;1997;1998/99:2002 *

Zimbabwe Premier Soccer League Zimbabwe Premier Soccer League is the top professional division of the Zimbabwe Football Association. It was founded in 1980, as a successor to the 1962 formed ''Rhodesia National Football League.'' It is currently sponsored by Delta Beverages ...

: 5 ::1979, 1996, 2004, 2005, 2016 * Castle cup, ZIFA cup, CBZ: 9 ::1980, 1981, 1982, 1983,1989, 1992, 1997,2004, 2008 *

Zimbabwean Independence Trophy The Zimbabwean Independence Trophy is a Zimbabwean association football knockout tournament. It was created as a clubs competition in 1983 played during commemorations of the country's independence. The final is usually played on 18 April, which is ...

: 4 ::1992, 1993, 1996, 1997 * Zimbabwean Charity Shield: 2 ::1996;

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

* Zambezi Challenge Cup - Malawi: 1 ::2014

Performance in CAF competitions

CAF Champions League The CAF Champions League, known for sponsorship purposes as the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League and formerly the African Cup of Champions Clubs, is an annual football club competition organized by the Confederation of African Football and co ...

: 4 appearances ::

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...

– Third Round ::

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

– Second Round ::

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

– disqualified in Second Round ::

– Group Stage (Top 16) *

CAF Confederation Cup The CAF Confederation Cup, known as the TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup for sponsorship purposes, is an annual association football club competition established in 2004 from a merger of the CAF Cup and the African Cup Winners' Cup and organi ...

: 2 appearances ::

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

– First Round ::

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

– Second Round of 16 *

CAF Cup The CAF Cup was an annual competition organised by the CAF for domestic leagues runners-up of member associations who have not qualified to the pre-existing CAF international club competition the African Cup of Champions Clubs. History The tou ...

: 3 appearances ::

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

– withdrew in First Round ::

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

– disqualified in First Round ::

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

– withdrew in First Round *

CAF Cup Winners' Cup The African Cup Winners' Cup was a football competition that started in 1975 and merged with the CAF Cup in 2004 to form the CAF Confederation Cup. It was a competition between the winning clubs of domestic cups in CAF-affiliated nations and was ...

: 4 appearances ::

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

– Second Round ::

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...

– Quarter-finals ::

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to Internet protocol suite, TCP/IP is officially completed (this is consid ...

– Quarter-finals ::

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...

– First Round

Current squad

Historical list of coaches

* Sarupinda asu* Ashton Nyazika * Lovemore Nyabeza * Freddie Mukwesha * Nti Bihene Bonzu * Shaky Tauro * Kabole * Mafemba * Friday Phiri * Steve Kwashi * Brenna Msiska * Luke Masomere * Justin Mathuthu * Rahman Gumbo (2002–03) * Fewdays Musonda (2003) * Charles Mhlauri (2004–05) * Lloyd Chitembwe (2008–10) * Moses Chunga (2010–11) *

(2012) * Mkhuphali "Mike" Masuku (2012) * Taurai Mangwiro (2013–14) *

Mark Harrison Mark Harrison is the name of: * Mark Harrison (American football) (born 1990), American football player * Mark Harrison (comics) (born 1963), British comic book artist * Mark Harrison (footballer) (born 1960), English footballer * T. Mark Harrison ...

(2015) * Lloyd Chitembwe (2015–19) * Darlington Dobo (2019–22) * Lloyd Chitembwe (2022-)

References

External links

Caps United News
Website : www.capsutd.com
Facebook Website
{{Zimbabwe Premier Soccer League Association football clubs established in 1973 Football clubs in Zimbabwe Sport in Harare 1973 establishments in Rhodesia