DEMBARE GET LESS THAN HALF OF MATCH DAY REVENUE

Sports Reporter

DYNAMOS ended up with less than HALF of the gross income they generated during their blockbuster clash against Highlanders at Rufaro on Sunday.

It’s the latest demonstration of the way the domestic Premiership clubs are being used as mere pawns in an industry where they should be getting the biggest chunk of the revenue they generate.

The big showdown between the country’s two biggest and most successful clubs generated a gross income of US$48 049.

The Glamour Boys, who have been battling serious financial challenges, which led to their players boycotting training ahead of the big game, were left with just US$23 864.

The club share is now even about half what the game generated even though the majority of the fans, inside Rufaro, were their own supporters.

This means that other parties, who were just supporting acts to Dynamos, as the home team, ended up taking the bulk of the money raised from gate receipts.

Among the direct match expenses, which were deducted from the revenue, was the US$1 103,93, which Dynamos paid for the cost of tickets.

These are the tickets, which are supplied by the PSL to the clubs, and the teams have to pay a percentage for each of the ticket which is sold at the entry points.

“It’s a controversial subject because you would expect that the club would have the biggest chunk of the revenue since the teams are the star attractions here,” said a PSL club official, who requested anonymity.

“Everyone else is just supporting and these are not the parties that should get the biggest chunk of the earnings from gate receipts.

“People come to watch the players, who are paid by these clubs, and we should find a way we can protect these clubs, especially given our difficult environment.

“We can say that okay, this is there are two games where Dynamos are likely to get a substantial income from gate takings all season – against CAPS and Highlanders.

“So, we can say during those two games, we reduce the levies that we pile on these clubs and they don’t have to pay for the cost of tickets and so forth.

“In all the other games they will pay as usual and we can use the same model for the others like FC Platinum, Ngezi Platinum, Manica Diamonds.

“All of them will know that they have one or two games, during the season, where they can maximise on earnings.”