adminTawanda Mangoma Chiredzi Correspondent
NEWLY promoted Castle Lager Premier Soccer League side Chiredzi FC are facing serious financial challenges just three weeks into the season.The team, formerly Hippo Valley FC, was dumped by the sugar milling giant Tongaat Hullet who insisted on supporting one team in the Premiership.
They are the sponsors of Triangle who also play in the elite league and were promoted earlier than Chiredzi FC.
Sources said Hippo Valley Estates have since asked Chiredzi FC to vacate its premises that are accommodating the team’s players and technical staff by end of this month.
Players have been receiving about $50 a month since the beginning of the season but their determination to play has kept them going.
In an interview, Chiredzi FC chairman Charles Muchatukwa confirmed the team’s woes saying they are depending on gatetakings.
“We are relying on gatetakings but there is very little money from there since it is from the same gatetakings that we pay police officers and match officials,” said Muchatukwa.
Addressing journalists after their 3-0 defeat at home by Highlanders, Chiredzi FC coach Moses Chunga decried lack of support by companies in the town.
“It appears the team was misled into committing itself when Tongaat Hullet pulled out. It should have learnt from experiences of clubs like Black Aces, Dynamos, Gweru United, Mutare United, Highlanders and Zimbabwe Saints,” he said.
In countries such as South Africa, Chunga said, companies scrambled to sponsor football teams but the situation was different in Zimbabwe despite the fact that same companies operate in the country.
Chunga said Chiredzi FC was a project meant to nurture young talent in marginalised areas such as Chikombedzi and Save.
“The reason why we are still soldiering on despite difficulties is because we want to show the world that there is so much untapped talent in the Lowveld which can raise the Zimbabwe flag high. If you look at my team, the larger fraction of players are teenagers drawn from rural communities surrounding Chiredzi,” said Chunga.
Online Reporter