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Tadious Manyepo Sports Reporter
ARMY side Black Rhinos have started reaping rewards for their decision to stage their home matches in Mutare after a Manicaland-based company Broadhaven Construction committed a $20 million sponsorship to the Premiership football club for this year alone.
Chauya Chipembere are one of the three Harare teams who have elected to host their home games outside the capital due to shortage of stadia.
They are using Sakubva in Mutare while helping out in the renovation of Vengere in Rusape where they intend to shift in the next couple of months.
Fellow soldiers, Cranborne Bullets, have also adopted Sakubva as their home ground while another Harare team, Yadah, are hosting their guests at Baobab in Ngezi.
While the three teams are certainly incurring losses by so doing, the woes are set to ease for Black Rhinos who are scheduled to get the first batch of the amount before their Saturday encounter against Tenax at Sakubva.
Chauya Chipembere chairman, Muelusi Shumba, revealed the club is set to get the windfall from Broadhaven Construction.
“I can confirm that a Manicaland-based construction company, Broadhaven, have committed to sponsor us with a $5 million quarterly this year.
“The sponsorship for the first quarter is coming this week and we will have it before our next league match at home against Tenax,” he said. “We are in very good books with this company and they were impressed, particularly with our decision to play our home matches in Mutare. They said, ‘look, your team has shown they are impressed with the hospitality the province offers’. That is how they then said they can sponsor us with a $5 million quarterly to ease our logistical issues.
“We are very grateful to the company. Of course, we will do an official ceremony to mark the beginning of this relationship but for now they are committed somewhere on work-related business but I can confirm the deal because everything has been agreed since.
“Our decision to stage our matches at Sakubva was an easy one. We consider any place in this country our home and it was just a matter of where there was little pressure for the stadium and we settled for Sakubva.
“Plans are underway for us to shift to Vengere in Rusape which is currently being renovated to meet the required top-flight standards. And the incoming sponsors are aware of the arrangements.”
Initially, Black Rhinos had earmarked Chinhoyi Stadium and even seconded personnel to help out in the upgrading of the facility over the past two years.
But the pace at which progress was taking place seemed to have pushed the club to then opt for Trojan in Bindura.
However the latter’s touch-ups were still too slow, resulting in the Herbert ”Jompano” Maruwa-coached team settling for Sakubva.
And the decision has started paying dividends, especially with the latest deal.
While doing their business silently, Black Rhinos are slowly building an empire with sponsors getting attracted to the Zimbabwe Nataional Army’s flagship team.
On Tuesday, the team unveiled new training and playing kits, courtesy of their apparel partners Fossil Agro while a new partner, Vumba Trust, have also come aboard with an initial injection of warm-up T-shirts and personalised bottle drinks.
They have also entered a social media deal with Shineford Solar who have since pledged further sponsorship.
Online Reporter