DeMbare in cash crunch . . . PSL urge clubs to be innovative

Petros Kausiyo Deputy Sports Editor
HARARE giants Dynamos have revealed that they have been plunged into financial problems torched by Zimbabwe’s congested  African Nations Championships qualifying commitments that have left them without any revenue from the stalled Premier Soccer League programme. Dynamos, like most of the top-flight teams, rely heavily on revenue generated from the turnstiles.
Although the Premiership champions have a sponsorship deal with financial institution BancABC, which caters for the players’ salaries, their daily operations are funded from the revenue they make whenever they play at home.
But with a congested international fixture programme involving the Warriors taking its toll on the domestic Premiership, DeMbare and their rivals have been left in limbo.
However, PSL chief executive Kenny Ndebele, while acknowledging the negative impact of the disruption, also challenged the top-flight sides to be innovative and insisted they should look at the bigger picture of the huge benefits the national game could reap should the Warriors qualify for the Chan finals. Dynamos revealed yesterday that their plight had been worsened by the fact that they have not played at home since July 14 when they hosted army side Buffaloes at Rufaro.
Lack of Premiership action has similarly affected teams such as Bulawayo giants Highlanders, DeMbare’s bitter city rivals CAPS United as well as Motor Action, Monomotapa and Tripple B that have been reeling under severe financial stress.
Dynamos chairman Kenny Mubaiwa said yesterday that they felt disenfranchised by the disruption to the domestic fixtures.
With the Warriors having been engaged in Chan assignments for three consecutive weeks, it has meant that there has been no Premiership action in the period under review.
Although the local league took place between July 6-20 when the Cosafa Cup tournament was staged in Zambia, it has been a different scenario since the Warriors’ qualification bid for the 2014 Chan finals began with an away trip to Mauritius for the first round.
After winning 3-0 n the first leg in Curepipe, the Warriors were at home to Mauritius for the return leg which ended 1-1  last Sunday and they will be in action again this weekend when they date Zambia in the second round first leg qualifier.
Mubaiwa said apart from the financial burden which the disruption had caused, their inactivity could also “negatively impact on the team’s rhythm and our plans to defend the league and cup titles’’.
“We are an industry and with this inactivity it is as good as if we have been laid off.
“It is not a secret that we survive on gate takings and without matches, especially the home games, we are basically doomed because it grounds our operations. We want the national team to progress but we believe that a workable solution has to be found that ensures that we do not find ourselves in a situation similar to the one that we are experiencing. It has to be synchronised so that we have a win-win situation,’’ Mubaiwa said.
Dynamos were last at home against Buffaloes on July 14 before travelling to Kadoma to face Black Rhinos at Rimuka on July 21 for their last fixture before the Warriors’ Chan assignments took centre stage.
Earlier in June the Premiership programme had also been pegged back by the Warriors’ 2014 World Cup Group G qualifiers against Egypt at the National Sports Stadium and Guinea in Conakry.
Although the clubs raised genuine concerns over the impact of the distortions, Ndebele said it was also imperative that the teams also looked for other innovative ways of boosting their revenue streams.
Ndebele said the Chan tournament was a Confederation of African Football initiative that was primarily designed to benefit such leagues like the PSL as it catered only for those players plying their trade in the national leagues.
“We acknowledge that disruptions are affecting our clubs but we also felt that the Chan competition is a PSL competition because it involves only the domestic players.
“So instead of us just condemning the disruption, I think it is prudent for us in future to try and have the Chan programme on time so that we can make the necessary adjustments.
“Tentatively next year we are looking at starting our season earlier in March rather than at the end of March as we did this year.
“We are also cognisant of the fact that some teams do not contribute players to the national team but we could not have a situation where those who do not have players in the national team continue with their fixtures while others lag behind,’’ Ndebele said.
The PSL chief executive said he did not anticipate any further disruptions once the Warriors return from Zambia where they will play the Chan final qualifier second leg tie on August 24.
“After resumption we will have one disruption on September 8 when we play Mozambique in a World Cup qualifier but that one is a dead rubber so we will engage Zifa about it just like they engaged us and I think we can be able to still finish our season by November 30.
“The disruptions, although affecting our clubs, stand to benefit our players because if Zimbabwe qualifies for the Chan finals in South Africa it will give the PSL players a chance to go and showcase their talent and there is no doubt the whole world and several clubs will be watching events at the Chan finals.
“So we have to help the Warriors to beat Zambia and qualify for the Chan finals,’’ Ndebele said.
The veteran administrator and former Highlanders secretary-general said the bigger challenge facing the PSL clubs was not so much the disruptions caused by the Warriors fixtures but the need for the teams to broaden their marketing strategies and also take a cue from those in Europe.
The PSL clubs, Ndebele also said, needed to embrace the new trend of Fifa club licensing, which also demands a business approach and transparency that includes producing audited accounts.
“While we acknowledge that gate revenue at the moment contributes a lot to the clubs’ coffers, I think they should also look at creating more revenue streams and engage in various fund-raising activities.
“We need to find out what clubs can do apart from just playing friendly matches to raise money whenever there are international fixtures. They need to invest in such projects like service stations, night clubs, hold musical shows and even raffles.
“The idea of having PSL board of directors sitting in the Zifa assembly is not just about voting, it’s about bringing a difference to the game by focusing on broader issues of development, marketing the game and working on growing the game.
“If you look at a club like FC Platinum, apart from being a mining team, they have a night club and a service station in Zvishavane and these contribute revenue on a daily basis which means the club does not have to wait for the home games.
“Like I said, yes we are concerned about the breaks, but when they do happen as they did we have to find ways round them,’’ Ndebele said.