Online Reporter
HIGHLANDERS are smiling after receiving a US$1 million donation from businessman and philanthropist Wicknell Chivayo with a quarter-of-that-money,US$250,000, coming in cash this year.
The country’s oldest football club, among those still part of the domestic Premiership, have been told by their benefactor that they should use the US$250,000 to strengthen their team.
This means that Bosso should use the transfer window to boost theirs quad and ensure that they will have a stronger team, for the second half of the season, than the one they had in the first phase.
Highlanders lost a number of their key players at the end of the season, including the rock on which their defence had been built, Peter Muduhwa, and their best striker, Lynoth Chikuhwa, who moved to Scottland.
When a club lose players of such quality, they feel it in a big way and while Bosso have performed better than their main rivals – Dynamos and CAPS United – they have struggled to keep pace with the high-flying newboys Scottland and MWOS.
There is agreement in domestic football that without substantial funding, traditional giants like Dynamos and Highlanders will struggle to match the standards which are being set by the cash-rich newboys.
Not only on the pitch but just about everywhere.
MWOS refurbished Ngoni Stadium into a venue which now hosts Premiership matches while Scottland have started work to build their home ground in their home suburb of Mabvuku.
This is something that both Dynamos and Highlanders have failed for decades.
The Scottland training ground and clubhouse, which will have apartments where some of their players will live, is also taking shape in Ruwa.
Highlanders will celebrate their Centenary next season and it would have been nice for those celebrations to be spiced with such huge projects being part of the Bosso story.
Highlanders have not won the championship in 19 years and Dynamos have not won the title in 11 years.
It’s very unlikely that one of these two giants will be crowned champions this year.
In fact, when it comes to Dynamos, the interest for the club leaders right now is to ensure that the Glamour Boys move away from relegation trouble.
It’s sad that DeMbare, who are the biggest and most successful football club in this country, do not have all-weather friends like Bosso who can come up with a US$1 million injection into the club.
This is a club that badly need such friends, and such kind of money, just to stabilise things and help them transform their fortunes on the pitch.
Right now, DeMbare face a ban from registering new players if they fail to settle the debt owed to two Ghanaian players who featured for them last season.
But, no one is coming to give them a helping hand and the main reason appears to be Bernard Marriot who, in his leadership of the club’s shadowy board of directors, has not created the environment for Good Samaritans to come and help.
Dynamos badly need help and the sooner they get it the better for them.
DeMbare will accept clean money from anyone. What it will not do is to be made to clean dirty money in the name of sponsorship.