Bosso eye Bots pre-season camp

Innocent Kurira

Zimpapers Sports Hub

HIGHLANDERS could head to Botswana this week for a proposed pre-season training camp, although the trip remains subject to final approval from the relevant authorities.

Sources close to the club indicate that Bosso are working on plans for a short training camp outside the country as part of their preparations for the new campaign. While an earlier proposal had pointed to Malawi as the preferred destination, Botswana has since emerged as the likely venue pending completion of the necessary paperwork. Efforts to obtain official comment from Highlanders were unsuccessful, but insiders say the club is engaging authorities, including the Sports and Recreation Commission (SRC), to ensure the trip gets the green light.

“The team is expected to travel to Botswana, but everything is subject to the paperwork being finalised. The club is working closely with the relevant authorities to make sure the trip sails through. It is likely to be a six-day training camp, with practice matches against local Botswana teams lined up,” said a source within Highlanders. Should the tour materialise, it would mark a significant shift from last season’s troubled build-up, which many within the club blamed for their disastrous 2025 campaign.

Bosso endured a chaotic pre-season last year, a situation then coach Kelvin Kaindu publicly lamented before his eventual departure.

The Bulawayo giants went on to flirt with relegation, surviving on the final day of the 2025 Castle Lager Premiership season to finish a disappointing 11th, one of the club’s worst league finishes in recent years. Now under the guidance of Zimbabwean football legend Benjani Mwaruwari, there is renewed optimism at Bosso.

Mwaruwari, whose playing career spanned South Africa and England, has been tasked with restoring stability and competitiveness at the club. His arrival has coincided with increased financial backing, a million-dollar injection from benefactor Wicknell Chivayo.

If approved, the Botswana camp would offer Mwaruwari and his technical team a valuable opportunity to build cohesion, assess new signings and instil their philosophy away from home distractions. For now, however, Highlanders’ travel plans remain in the balance as the club awaits the necessary clearance.