adminGone are the days when the Zimbabwe soccer landscape was dominated by such teams. They won all silverware that was available on the calendar, provided national teams with players and gave the masses quality entertainment.
A changing socio-economic environment and times claimed the scalps of some of the landmark features of the game like Black Aces and Gweru United. Aces filled a good void in the heart of Highfields and
provided good competition to neighbouring Mbare where DeMbare reigned supreme.
With Kwekwe providing the nation with mining club Ziscosteel, winners of the 1978 Castle Cup and further up north Rio Tinto, Gweru had to have a team too in the then Rhodesia National Football League and later the Super League.
This came in the form of Gweru United, who had a paper-burning mob of supporters behind them. The club gave the nation Wonder Chaka, Isaac Tshuma, Ashton Mhlanga, Ranga Mutunga, Collin Semwayo and
Kisdo Matsika all good players in their day.
Aces and Gweru United went down from the elite league to Division One and eventually became extinct.
The reason for their collapse was that the communities could no longer support them. It was left to a few individuals to scrounge for the clubs’ survival and that little resistance later gave in to reality that community clubs were not as communal in their funding and existence.
Only a few individuals carried the burden.
Now Dynamos, Highlanders and Zimbabwe Saints survive. Most of the clubs in the Premiership are either individual or company sponsored.
Companies support their own clubs as part of their social responsibility programmes also providing employment and entertainment to communities they draw their labour or raw materials from.
Jones Ndlovu, a Highlanders supporter, said the era of community clubs was over. He said for a club to thrive there had to have a physical ownership.
“We always say the team belongs to the community when liability is shared only by a few. Those in the executive get into trouble when millions of us are demanding results without inputting anything. What we need for the future is for someone or a group of individuals to take over and inject money into the club.
“We can have some members of the board staying in the set up as trustees, custodians of the club who would ensure that the Bosso tradition stays. What we do not want is for someone who does not share with us to come in and take it to Chinhoyi or change emblem and team colours. Highlanders must stay Highlanders, there are some things that only those who rally behind the club understand,” said Ndlovu.
He said there was no way by which the club could expect to survive on handouts.
Outgoing Zimbabwe Saints chairman Felix Dzumbunu concurs with Ndlovu.
“There is no future in community clubs as far as I am concerned. Their era is past perhaps Dynamos and Highlanders because of big crowds can still survive. But the economic environment is hard for corporate organisations to part with money especially the size needed by clubs,” said Dzumbunu.
He said membership should not want to stay put with the club when they are not contributing to its existence.
“Things have changed. Belonging to these clubs had other social factors in the past which might not be applicable today and without that no crowds at all to sustain the clubs.
“It’s about time members allowed a group of people to invest and take over, the clubs have to be run like companies with requisite structures that are guided by the vision of the directors.
“Company teams are better off, it is a social responsibility stunt and there is stability but at community teams it is hard to harness members and share the same ideals, there has to be a paradigm shift towards the
future, there is no hope for community clubs, they will always be infighting and other problems,” said Dzumbunu.
Highlanders board secretary Jimmy Ncube said there was still hope for community clubs. “We are on a low ebb, the fact that we have survived to this day means we can still go on,” said Ncube.
His club faces an uncertain future with debts mounting and the executive failing to attract good players.
Stars have been leaving as free agents because of lack of funds to pay them decent signing-on fees. Those eager to revive their careers have found themselves in the black and white colours and Ncube believes there are still better times to come as this is a passing phase.
Highlanders benefector Tshinga Dube said the biggest challenges with community clubs tended to be that members were too conservative. They just want to hold on to something even when they can see there is no scope for the future because of traditional beliefs.
“Having a club with directors who would have invested money into the club could be a good solution, but members are very conservative, they think they would be losing what belongs to them. It could be sold to an individual and they could lose out.
“The problem is not of the soldiers on the battle front, but the officers who make wrong choices and decisions. Clubs tend to have board of directors that are ceremonial and add no value to the club and hang on to positions for years. This retards development and an infusion of new ideas like at Highlanders,” said Dube.
The retired senior army officer said like at Highlanders the problem lay at the top and people hide behind the finger and point at wrong targets.
“The problem is that we hide behind the finger, the future looks bleak we could end up fighting relegation or playing in Division One, we need change at the top. Solving the club’s problems is that we have to start at the top going downwards for solutions that can revitalise the team, we have people who have been there for 40 years, we have been exposed as we are not growing as a club, these are evolving times in business and soccer scenario, they need other ideas to be put to work,” said Dube.
He reiterated that the community clubs needed to appoint a number of people to be patrons who could even help with their influence or resources.
“Look at Peter Ndlovu, he has played at the highest level, he has learnt so much and from him we could be better of if he is in the board. He brings fresh ideas about football and what direction the game can take,” said Dube.
A prominent Harare businessman Ndodana Mguquka said the membership structures are wrong and offer no hope for the future. “Turn it into a company, demutualise it so that whoever has a membership card benefits, he can sell those shares, for instance if you have decided counter trading. Those with cards can go and sell their shares over the counter at a designated shop like the post office and when you sell you lose voting rights.
“Then a member could have a controlling stake, the club will run as a business concern and from my financial perspective there is no future for community clubs in their present ownership structure,” said Mguquka.
Online Reporter