Washington Navaya Owns 2025: TelOne Talisman Shocks Favorites to Win Soccer Star of the Year!
Sports Analysis By: Sona Headlines Sports Desk
Washington Navaya walked into the banquet hall on Friday night carrying nothing more than quiet hope. The room was tilting towards the favorites, but when the final envelope was opened, the script was rewritten. Washington Navaya, the man who dragged TelOne through the fire with 17 goals, is the 2025 Soccer Star of the Year.
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| Washington Navaya |
From being labeled a "flop" at Highlanders to becoming the King of Zimbabwean football, this is the story of a Gweru boy who refused to let his career die.
The Night The Script Flipped
The debate leading up to the night was charged with emotion. Here is how the contenders stacked up.
WASHINGTON NAVAYA (TelOne)
Status: WINNER
The Stats: 17 Goals.
The Feat: Dragged a relegation-threatened team to 5th place. The most consistent player in the top flight.
ELVIS MOYO (Scottland)
Status: Runner Up
Guided Scottland to a historic title in their debut season. Fans marveled at the parallels with Black Rhinos in 1984, but it wasn't enough.
EMMANUEL JALAI (Dynamos)
Status: Finalist
Praised as the calm at the center of Dynamos’ storm during their last-day escape. A consistent performer who missed the top prize.
The Mtapa Factory
Washington Navaya’s story begins in Mtapa, Gweru — a neighbourhood known for producing fighters, dreamers, and raw football brilliance. It is a place where children learn the game on dusty, uneven open grounds, and where tough beginnings often shape extraordinary talent.
Mtapa has never been just a neighbourhood. It’s a football factory that raised stars like Maxwell “MaRhino” Dube (2001 Soccer Star of the Year) and Kudakwashe Musharu. Navaya grew up watching these icons, carrying the belief that one day he could walk the same path.
Those early days built his resilience. In Mtapa, failure is part of the training. Rising again is part of the culture.
By age 15, Navaya had joined the prestigious MaRhino7 Academy, founded by Maxwell Dube himself. The comparisons came quickly — the same speed, the same instinct, the same courage to take on defenders.
On Friday night, history completed a perfect circle: two men from the same neighbourhood, raised on the same dusty fields, crowned Soccer Stars of the Year exactly 24 years apart.
"I always talk to Maxwell Dube and he is always there to share a piece of advice or two," Navaya revealed. Their bond is proof that Mtapa’s legacy never dies — it simply passes from one generation to the next.
When Navaya joined Highlanders, expectations were sky-high. But the journey turned into one of the toughest periods of his career. The pressure, the weight of the jersey, and the timing of his move worked against him.
"I flopped at Highlanders… I was still learning the ropes," he admitted with rare honesty. It became a label he carried for years — one many assumed would define him forever.
But setbacks don’t break Mtapa boys. They sharpen them.
Instead of drifting through small clubs like many players after a big-team flop, Navaya made a bold, emotional choice — he went back home.
Back to Gweru. Back to Telone. Back to the people who believed in him long before anyone else did.
"Last year was tough, but we survived. This year we told ourselves we were not going to struggle."
Working under Coach Herbert Maruwa, his confidence returned. His hunger returned. His scoring touch returned.
17 goals later, Telone had gone from relegation battlers to a top-five team with real bite.
Ascot Stadium turned into a fortress this season. Week after week, Gweru fans filled the stands, roaring Navaya’s name and lifting him to new heights.
Coach Maruwa said it best:
"When I arrived, he looked low on confidence. But he worked hard, and I believe he deserved even 20 goals."
This wasn’t just a comeback for Navaya — it was a revival for Telone, for Gweru football, and for every player who has ever been doubted.
On Friday night, when his name was finally called, time seemed to stop. The man no one expected — the outsider in the debate — stood at the summit of Zimbabwean football.
He beat narratives, statistics, predictions, and doubts.
Navaya didn’t just win an award. He completed one of the greatest comeback stories in recent Zimbabwean football history.
From being overlooked… To being unstoppable… To being unforgettable.
From "Flop" to Star
When Navaya struggled at Highlanders, whispers were loud. He left with a label he still carries. “Let me say I flopped at Highlanders as I was still trying to learn the ropes at a big team,” said Navaya. “I tried my best, but things never really got to go my way.”
Instead of drifting, Navaya went home. Back to TelOne. “I just decided to take a bold decision and returned to TelOne... This year, we told ourselves that we were never going to struggle.”
The people of Gweru filled Ascot Stadium and lifted him every weekend, turning the ground into a place where his confidence could breathe again.
The Mastermind: Herbert Maruwa
Coach Herbert Maruwa is credited with transforming Navaya's mentality. "When I arrived at TelOne, he was that man who looked low on confidence. Then I decided to just work on that," Maruwa revealed.
Maruwa believes Navaya's ceiling is even higher. “Washy is a player who is always up for the grind. I am of the opinion that he was supposed to score at least 20 goals. It’s a well-deserved recognition.”
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