Chronicle Editor
Lovemore Dube and Vusumuzi Dube
AMID the echoing whispers of history and the weight of unmet expectations, the upcoming Highlanders executive elections set for February 4 hold the promise of a new era for the club.
The mantle of leadership, heavy with the dreams and aspirations of an ardent fan base, will soon be passed on to a new executive charged with steering the now dormant giant to unprecedented heights, both on the field and in the realm of commercial success.
For too long, the club has languished in the shadows of unfulfilled potential, held back by a lack of brand growth and a perpetual reliance on external support.
The legacy of successive chairpersons has been marked by the absence of significant progress, leaving the institution with little more than a begging bowl and a sense of unmet promises.
The need for a transformative vision that transcends the routine fulfillment of Zifa and Premier Soccer League programmes has never been more pressing.
As the Highlanders family prepares for this crucial gathering, the air crackles with anticipation and a growing hunger for change. The impending elections for the chairman, executive secretary, and committee member positions held by Johnfat Sibanda, Morgen Dube, and Mgcini Mafu respectively, carry the weight of the club’s unspoken desires for a new dawn, where the leadership is not merely pre-occupied with maintaining power, but rather dedicated to igniting a renaissance that will propel the club to its rightful place among the footballing elite.
The future of Highlanders hangs in the balance, poised on the precipice of transformation. The outcome of the meeting will not only shape the trajectory of the club but also carry the hopes and dreams of a passionate fan base yearning for a new chapter in the storied history of this illustrious football institution.
Save for Mafu, Sibanda, and Dube are seeking re-election.
Sibanda will face Eddison Dube, Kenneth Mhlophe, and Nodumo Nyathi for the chairman’s post while Dube will be up against Raerburn Ndebele and Nsikelelo Mafa-Moyo.
Football should be the club’s pre-occupation and hence there will be need to consider a sizeable investment in junior development. At a football club, the single most disposable assets are players, hence the expectation for Bosso to channel more resources to juniors so that they can develop talent that could be sold directly abroad at a tender age so that the club benefits from accruals in development and solidarity fees.
Until they were alerted and assisted on Teenage Hadebe, Kuda Mahachi, and Marvellous Nakamba, Highlanders almost lost their investment in the three players.
Under Fifa rules a club is entitled to development fees for every year spent from the age of 12 until 23. This is a low-hanging fruit Bosso can reach out to.
Of late, juniors have not been training regularly and just meeting on match day. There is nothing that can be achieved from that approach as the boys are just being reduced to fulfilling fixtures without much to assist their individual development. Regular practice and exposure beyond the province are what Highlanders will have to invest in for the boys to blossom into fine exports.
The club is renowned for its junior development which dates back to the 1960s with the likes of Billy Sibanda and Lawrence Phiri among the pioneering group.
Successive generations gave the country Chris Bhaa, Richard Mbence, Builder Nyaruwata, Peter Nkomo, George Moyo, Themba Lunga, Madinda Ndlovu, Nhamo Shambira, Willard Khumalo, Mercedes Sibanda, Netsai Moyo, the late Adam Ndlovu, Thulani Gumede, the late Nkululeko Dlodlo, Isaac Riyano, Peter Ndlovu, Siza Khoza, Melusi Ndebele, Melusi Sibanda, Noel Kaseke up to the Gillian Nyathi and Daniel Msendami brigades.
For 18 years the club has not lifted the league title being the longest in its history ever since Bosso started playing association football in 1969. Before this barren track, Highlanders had gone 16 years without winning the title being 1974-1990 as the biggest wait for glory.
The winning executive members will join treasurer Israel Moyo and vice chairman Fiso Siziba and expectations will be high that they will give coach Kelvin Kaindu funds to buy quality. The team finished fifth with a mediocre side short of talented players to take the club to expected zenith heights.
Highlanders’ most successful teams played the 4-3-3, 3-5-2, and 4-4-2 systems with an emphasis on solid defending, great wing play, enterprising midfield, and a finisher or two in attack. Once wingers and mid-fielders start dribbling and surging forward into the final third, no opposition can withstand the 12th player in the line-up – Bosso supporters.
Last year Johnfat Sibanda and his executive spent the season fighting with the coach over why Obriel Chirinda whom former coach Baltemar Brito had identified in 2022 had not been brought to Barbourfields Stadium.
The need for quality players cannot be over-emphasised, that is the club’s business and for fans to continue coming to matches, the football must be exciting and with positive results.
The secretariat’s performance especially in issues to do with corporate governance has been found wanting, there could be a need to strengthen it or the supervising mechanism. This may also speak to the club attending to its constitution where the separation of powers between the secretariat, executive, and board could be spelled out to avoid duplication of roles.
Highlanders has properties that it is not benefiting much from because no one is attending to them. The clubhouse needs clearing up to the last of the four fields where one is functional.
The backboards on the basketball court are an eyesore while the netball court erected by long-serving board member Dumisani Sandi has been neglected with grass growing in between the cracks. It once provided space for a cold room when the Hlabangana Lounge was changed to a short-lived Tshisa Nyama.
The club can derive income from the cleared fields and patronage of the clubhouse can improve because of sporting activity at the facility which would be good for the city’s social cohesion since athletics, basketball, football, boxing, karate, netball, chess, darts and scrabble can be accommodated at the facility.
The Hlabangana Lounge can be turned into a Hall of Fame (museum) where anyone who wants the club history can go there for a nominal fee as part of the legs of the sports tourism drive that incorporates drives to sports clubs and facilities like Barbourfields and White City Stadium where murals of legends could be on the walls.
Members may also buy replicas and other memorabilia for posterity purposes.
Highlanders will be 100 years old in 2026. It is an event that could be turned into a commercial success as it provides advertising and corporate partnership opportunities that may even begin this year up to the end of 2026.
Below is a list of what the incoming executive will have to attend to:
Have a solid technical structure that will assemble a formidable team ready to challenge for honours
Work hard to unite the members to gather support and bring fans to the stadium home and away
Up their game in marketing merchandise particularly replicas which they have been receiving as consignment stock, theirs being to sell and never to run out of stock
Ensure a responsive and vibrant secretariat geared for the ever-dynamic sports industry challenges
Pursue vigorously all partnerships with stakeholders to maximise benefits to the club
Well-planned proper pre-season games that will set the team ready
No more talk about personalised deals from the executive, secretariat, board, and technical team
Back to good corporate governance and selflessness with a formalised working structure
Invest in self-sustenance projects like mining, camping house, facilities
Invest in youth football including youth recruitment policy and funding
Centenary celebrations
Review constitution
Review/craft business model
Monetize digital space
Revive international partnerships and make use of former player and coach base
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