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Any football fan the world over who has seen their beloved club suffering from a financial crisis knows the importance of supporters in keeping the team alive.
That is why teams like Highlanders have been around for almost 90 years. At times leading supporters have come out to bail out their club in times of need.
Highlanders Football Club is at the heart of the nation with fan movements reinforcing this sense of belonging. a�?Ithimu yezwe lonkea�? they call it.
Football is that social glue keeping our communities together. Once football clubs become defunct, it will always be hard to find a replacement.
Hence fans demand good results and even want to have a say in the running of the clubs. Even if it means sharing opinions with the club leadership in places such as club houses.
Interestingly, as reported on page 32 of this edition, a Highlanders assistant coach did not take kindly to advice from fans.
a�?The coach did not take kindly to being questioned by fans on the state of the substitution bench of the team and he started throwing chairs at them in a fit of rage,a�? said a fan in the report.
If one looks at the years gone by at Highlanders Football Club, especially at the Annual General Meetings, it is easy to notice that those running the game have not done so for the benefit of the majority of fans.
Since independence in 1980 there must have been more than 30 clubs that have come and gone. This shows how much Zimbabwean football has come of age. As such, any football administrator would tell you that clubs should be run like businesses but administrators in that quest should not forget the most important element: their customers also known as fans and supporters.
By listening to fans, clubs can look beyond immediate success which usually results in the hiring and firing of coaches anytime. One club in the English Premiership, Manchester United kept Sir Alex Ferguson for 26 years. In those years he grew to become the most successful coach in the history of the league at the same time cementing the club as one of the greatest of all times.
This was possible because the club management helped fans gain an understanding of the pressures facing the club and moderated their expectations. In that way, fans were made not to feel constantly exploited and disregarded.
Since teams such as Highlanders FC are community owned, fans need to understand football governance and grab opportunities when they come along.
Otherwise those who grab the reins will find different ways of excluding fans.
Online Reporter