Ecobank handed over a new luxury coach to the Zimbabwe Football Association on Thursday, 5 November, giving the Warriors and Mighty Warriors dedicated transport while on national duty. The handover at Ecobank’s new headquarters in Borrowdale, Harare, marked the latest contribution from a partner that already provides playing and technical wear for Zimbabwe’s national football teams.

Ecobank Finance Director James Shumbanhete, ZIFA President Nqobile Magwizi and Ecobank Executive Mike Dengwani spoke at the ceremony. Representatives of the Ministry of Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culture joined fans and football stakeholders for the occasion. Among the guests were football legend Moses Chunga and veteran commentator Charles Mabika, two men who, in very different ways, have brought generations of Zimbabweans closer to the national team.

For supporters, the most familiar sight on matchday is that of the players emerging from the tunnel in Zimbabwe’s colours. The new Warriors Bus will become part of an earlier moment in that same ritual, when fans catch their first glimpse of the team arriving at the stadium. For the players and technical staff on board, it answers a practical need each time a squad comes together.

Shumbanhete spoke about the thinking behind the bank’s decision to purchase the coach for Zimbabwe’s senior national teams.

“We already support the teams through the kit they wear. We wanted to do something about the journey as well,” said Shumbanhete. “When our players travel together to represent Zimbabwe, they should do so in comfort.”

The coach will serve both the senior men’s and women’s teams. Having a vehicle for national team assignments gives ZIFA’s team managers a dependable basis on which to plan journeys between the team hotel, training ground and stadium. For players, those journeys are among the few parts of a busy international schedule they spend together as a full squad.

The timing gives fans an early occasion to look out for the new coach. The Warriors are preparing for their November Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Equatorial Guinea, with the home fixture set for 16 November at the National Sports Stadium. Beyond that assignment, the coach will serve successive squads of men and women called up to wear the national colours.