Mystery of the Dynamos ‘Goalline Prayer’

One of the yet-unexplained mysteries at Dynamos FC is the habit of their players kneeling along the goalline just before each of all their matches. Dynamos players have followed the act religiously over many years but noone has ever cared to explain why the act was formulated for and what really will be going on in the minds of the players when they kneel on the line. The common explanation has been that the players kneel down and pray to God for the pending match. But others, especially their rivals, have been quick to rubbish that narrative, alleging instead that Dynamos, well known for their strong beliefs in juju will be engaging in the supernatural. They support their argument by questioning why their 2 matchday goalkeepers always kneel at the 2 ends of the goalposts. They also question why their captain of the day kneels right in the middle of the line.

Opposing teams have refused to buy the prayer narrative, saying Dembare gains supernatural powers by this kneeling act on the goalline. They allege maybe that is why Dynamos reached the final of the 1998 CAF Champions League. They allege maybe that is why Dynamos have won 21 League titles since the advent of competitive football in this country.

Alois Bunjira, then a Caps Utd player in the 90s, once incensed the Dembare faithful when he sarcastically kicked a ball over the kneeling Dynamos players into goal, obviously to “weaken the ritual”. The Dynamos fans and players were angry and the match got ill-tempered to the extent of then Dembare defender Kaitano Tembo making an early vicious tackle on Bunjira, which earned him a straight red card while Bunjira was rushed to hospital. As said before, noone at Dembare has really cared to shed light on the act.
Surprisingly, coach Lloyd Mutasa, who participated in the act as a player in many years, abandoned the act when he became coach at the club in 2015, preferring his players to stand on the field while facing the East. This act was influenced by Mutasa’s religious beliefs at that time as an Apolostolic sect member.

However, Dynamos fans, who had gotten used to the old act, openly voiced their concerns before all coming matches and somehow results eluded Mutasa and he did not last the distance. Immediately after Mutasa left, Dynamos did not hesitate to revert to their old act, which stands up to this day.

It is a fact that Dynamos has been Zimbabwe’s most successful club in this country, but it will always be debatable whether that success emanates from their “goalline prayer act”. They are yet to win the league since their last triumph in 2014, yet the goalline act persists to this day. Even as the 2020 season is about to commence, the odds are that the Dembare “goalline prayer” will persist, even for years to come.