adminMehluli Sibanda Senior Sports Reporter
HIGHLANDERS’ members will get the opportunity to get answers from the leadership over the team’s indifferent start to the season at an extraordinary general meeting set for Highlanders Sports Club this morning. The club’s paid up members are sure to grill chairman Peter Dube on why they have stuck with coach Bongani Mafu despite the team’s poor showing in the 13 matches they have played in the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League.
Highlanders are eighth on the 16 team log with 19 points, secured from five wins and four draws while they have suffered four defeats. They are 10 points away from top of the log neighbours, Chicken Inn.
Mafu has been a subject of unpleasant songs composed on the terraces by the club’s followers because of pathetic results at home matches.
Poor performance on the pitch has resulted in a decrease in attendance at Highlanders home matches which Highlanders chief executive officer Ndumiso Gumede has bemoaned a massive drop in the club finances due to that fact.
“Everything is down, finances are down, attendance is down, things are so bad,’’ said Gumede during a Press conference at the club offices last Thursday.
During the same meeting with journalists, Gumede revealed that Mafu had realised, courtesy of their last league match against How Mine, that the bulk of the players were not physically fit. Members are most likely going to question how it has taken a coach who supposedly knows what he was doing such a long time to realise that his players did not have the required fitness levels.
Gumede said Mafu has been forced to introduce a fitness run for the players ahead of their crunch encounter against Dynamos in Harare on Sunday.
According to an advertisement for the meeting carried by our sister paper Chronicle last Saturday, reports are expected from Highlanders chairman Dube and newly co-opted treasurer Donald Ndebele who has had little time to familiarise himself with the club’s finances since replacing Jerry Sibanda.
At the club’s annual general meeting held at the beginning of this year, it was revealed that Bosso’s debt had spiralled to $651 901 after the former champions made a net loss of $65 657 in 2014.
A number of measures have been put in place to try and reduce the club debt without success. This has seen the setting up of supporters’ chapters in South Africa and Harare to try and harness resources for the club.
Membership fees have also been increased from $30 to $50 for ordinary membership with those who want to become life members having to fork out $150 as opposed to the $80 that was previously required. Those holding life membership cards were asked to contribute $100 for three years beginning this year but Gumede recently said the response was not good with only 10 members having heeded that call.
Dube will have at least some something positive to report back as the team bus finally arrived in the country at the beginning of this month and was officially handed over by the country’s Vice-President Emmerson Mnangagwa at Barbourfields Stadium on 6 June.
However, the bus is far from use by the club for its away matches as it still has to be cleared by the relevant authorities, obtain an all-roads route permit which might see it only ferry the team to their assignments during the latter stages of the season.
The bus, acquired from South Africa, was purchased through a partnership between Highlanders and their long standing benefactor Tshinga Dube.
Meanwhile, a Highlanders initiative for the supporters to meet the leadership and the players at the clubhouse yesterday was a flop as a few Highlanders faithfuls were in attendance, which saw the Highlanders first team leave the venue early.
Players, the technical staff, some executive members as well as board members had braved the cold weather to meet the club’s supporters.
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