DeMbare insist sponsors still on board

Eddie Chikamhi
Senior Sports Reporter
DYNAMOS have insisted their relationship with their principal sponsors, Remington Gold, remains strong and nothing has changed.

Speculation has been rife that the company pulled the plug on the deal, unhappy they were not getting full value for their investment, and the negativity which stalked the Glamour Boys.

Reports players were being given US$3 for transport, and the team bus is usually filled with US$20 worth of diesel, making it difficult for the club to run its operations, are believed to have irked the sponsors.

The Gift Muzadzi affair, his suspension for voicing the players’ concerns, and his reinstatement, and the negative publicity it generated, is also believed to have disappointed the sponsors.

However, club chairman, Isaiah Mupfurutsa, yesterday said the company have not given them a signal of their intentions to terminate the five-year deal they signed in 2019.

“Normally, I wouldn’t want to respond to such information, which has no basis,” said Mupfurutsa.

“We are probably worried by the timing of such speculation, which could distract our playing staff, especially at a time when football has just returned after a year off, because of Covid-19.

“I have seen my name being quoted on the social media but I have not spoken to anyone about our relationship with our sponsors.

“We are conducting business as usual, Dynamos and Remington Gold are two big brands and we always conduct our business in a professional manner.

“As we speak right now, it’s Remington Gold who are sponsoring the team under the five-year deal that we signed in 2019.

“Players’ salaries are up to date and I am glad to say we are one of the clubs who have been religiously paying players their dues.

“When Dynamos played their Chibuku Super Cup game against Herentals on Sunday, I think you saw that they were putting on the Remington Gold logo.

“Would Remington Gold have allowed us to put on their brand if things were not normal?”

DeMbare and Remington Gold took their marriage another notch up, last year, when they signed a sales and distribution agreement.

This would have seen the club, and their fans, reaping dividends from commissions, for the distribution of the company’s products.

The Glamour Boys said the deal was going to be the game-changer, in their quest to become a profitable business entity.

But, then, it was affected by the outbreak of Covid-19.

Mupfurutsa said that agreement too is still binding.

“They are a big corporate and we are also a big club,” he said.

“So, these are two big brands coming together and if there is any problem, surely an announcement has to be made through the official communication channels, just like we did when the deal was announced.

“When we are quiet, it means nothing has changed.

“Right now, we are focused on the return of football, and the Chibuku Super Cup, which started at the weekend.”

Dynamos began their Chibuku Super Cup campaign with a dull goalless draw against Herentals, in the Group One matches, at the National Sports Stadium on Sunday.

Coach Tonderai Ndiraya is hoping the Glamour Boys will be able to put their act together in their second game.

“I thought we were a bit casual, in our approach to the game, and Herentals took control,” he said.

“But, I hope that the players have learnt and they will have more urgency, in our next matches, to get the results that we want.

“Herentals got more chances than us, a bit unusual, if you look at the quality that we have.

“So, it’s that push that is needed so that the boys will play to their full potential.

“The good thing is we have so many matches to play. Even if you slip up you can always recover. But we don’t want to do that.

“We need to get things going, our institution is about winning and we need to win.

“We are coming from a long lay-off and you would want to give the players some bit of time but I always say that time is not something that we have.

“We need to be brutal to get results.”