Johnson Progress

The domestic football fraternity is abuzz with anticipation as a panel of experts gathers virtually to select the best players for the 2025 Castle Lager Soccer Star of the Year award.

With no clear front-runners emerging from a diluted season, the prospects of surprises are high.

According to football pundits, the task ahead of the panel is unenviable, with 540 registered players vying for the top 11 spots.

“The team that wins the championship produces the bulk of the Soccer Star selection,” said a football expert, highlighting Scottland’s chances, who made history by becoming the first team to win the title in their debut season since Black Rhinos in 1984.

Scottland’s Kevin Moyo, a defender, has emerged as a formidable challenger for the award, thanks to his unparalleled consistency in a season of calculated player rotation.

Moyo was the immovable property, featuring in all 34 matches and forming the core of the defence that propelled Scottland to a historic maiden title.

“The fundamental job of a defender is to defend, yet we often only highlight them when they score,” said Dennis Dauda, a former ZPC Kariba stalwart, backing Moyo’s bid.

“A player of his calibre deserves recognition for his primary function, his exceptional defensive work,” he added.

Moyo’s case is strengthened by his discipline, having amassed only two yellow cards throughout the season. If he wins, he will be the first defender to claim the award since Dauda himself in 2014, breaking an 11-year drought.

Other contenders include Scottland’s Tymon Machope, who finished the season with 16 goals, and MWOS’s Martin Mapisa, Tinotenda Mutyambizi, Nigel Matinha, and Billy Veremu.

Simba Bhora’s Emmanuel Ziocha, Webster Tafa, and Isheanesu Mauchi are also in the mix, along with TelOne’s Tawanda Macheke and Washington Navaya, the Golden Boot winner with 17 goals

The panel’s decision is expected to be a tough one, with voters traditionally favouring goal-scoring heroes and creative engines over defensive stalwarts.

The winners will be crowned at a banquet in Harare on December 5.