Online Reporter
Lovemore Dube, Zimpapers Sports Hub
HIGHLANDERS, once the pride of Zimbabwean football, are staring at a painful player cull as financial pressures mount ahead of the club’s centenary year in 2026.
The Bulawayo giants have been fighting for survival both on and off the pitch. With their Castle Lager Premier Soccer League status still hanging in the balance before a tough away match against Chicken Inn on November 23, Bosso’s future looks uncertain.
Despite being the country’s oldest football institution, Highlanders have gone 20 years without a league title. The last piece of silverware came in 2019, when current coach Pieter de Jongh guided them to the Chibuku Super Cup.
But since then, the team has stumbled through a revolving door of coaches from Kelvin Kaindu to Try Ncube and back to De Jongh, with little to show for it. This season, the once feared club has been reduced to fighting relegation, and even their developmental side, Bosso 90, survived the drop only because their final opponents, Ajax Hotspurs, collapsed before the last fixture.
Club insiders admit the cracks run deep. Highlanders have 42 contracted players, including those with Bosso 90, yet few have lived up to the club’s standards. The wage bill tells its own story, a staggering US$71 000 against sponsorship support of just US$41 000, leaving a monthly shortfall the club must somehow absorb from its own meagre revenues.
Gate takings, traditionally a lifeline, can no longer carry the weight as matchday expenses swallow much of what’s earned. Recruitment has been another problem, with the club relying largely on free agents instead of strategically targeted signings.
“If Kelvin Kaindu’s struggles were about tactical limitations, then the failure by Try Ncube and De Jongh to turn things around absolves him,” said a source close to the club. “They all tried to make orange juice out of lemons.”
The club’s board is said to have concluded that the squad lacks the quality required at Highlanders or even Premier Soccer League level. A mass trimming of contracts now appears inevitable, though that may open new wounds. With little money to pay off unwanted players, Bosso risk piling more debt onto an already precarious balance sheet.
Those who closely follow the juniors and Bosso 90 say the situation is even worse beneath the surface. Once a reliable conveyor belt of national talent, the club’s development structures are now barely producing players worthy of the first team.
In the 1980s and 1990s, Bosso supplied a stream of players to the Young Warriors. Today, it’s a rarity to see a Highlanders junior earn national call-ups. The famous “Bosso factory” has all but broken down.
“It’s been a terrible year for Highlanders,” admitted one supporter. “The first team, Bosso 90 and even the women’s side, Highlanders Royals, have all flirted with relegation.”
Sought for comment on Monday about the wage bill and number of contracted players, Highlanders chief executive officer Denzil Mnkandla promised to respond after consulting management.
Yesterday, he later said the executive had recommended that board chairman Luke Mnkandla, address the media on the matter.
Multiple attempts to reach the board chairman were unsuccessful.
As they prepare for their final match of the season, Highlanders face not only a battle for PSL survival but a deeper reckoning. A century after their founding, the club’s biggest fight is no longer for trophies but for stability, relevance and survival.
