dyton mupawaenda
Lovemore Dube
HIGHLANDERS secretary-general Morgan Dube has become the first of the three executive members whose terms are coming to an end in four weeks’ time to announce he will seek re-election.
Dube’s post and that of chairman held by Johnfat Sibanda and committee member under Mgcini Mafu will all become vacant at the club’s annual general meeting.
The tourism industry player, confirmed to Zimpapers Sports Hub yesterday that he had decided to offer himself for re-election to serve the second biggest club in the country.
Dube said he still has the hunger and passion to get Highlanders to winning ways and get stronger as an institution to challenge other international football brands.
He described the past three years in which he was in office as an honour and said he had given his all for the betterment of the club and the sport two things he dearly loves.
The secretary-general added that the Bosso brand needed to take its space in football and that can only be achieved through unity and unlocking its full potential.
“It was an honour to serve Highlanders, to be the members and sympathisers’ messenger. Not every day do you get to serve at that level, waking up every morning hopeful of a better Highlanders and a happy membership.
“I have loved every moment of it and also it helped me grow as a person getting to listen to as many of the membership who had ideas on how we could do better. My next hope is that there is a bit of a foundation in place for us to cross the line soon, continuity is key.”
Dube said seeking re-election had not been an easy decision as he had to consult and also self-introspect.
He said friends and family had urged him to continue as a member of the Highlanders executive.
“I sat down and did some self-introspection. It is not about me at the end of the day but the institution, the community and sport that we want to see happy all the time. So at the end of the day it boiled down to my love for the club I have followed since birth, it boiled down to members who entrusted me with responsibility three years ago, I believe after my first term in office, I have learnt so much about the dynamics of the club, the football business end of things and that our members have been thirsty for success, they yearn to see club lift the league title, produce players for the external market whose proceeds will go to Highlanders and develop the institution further,” said Dube.
Dube said focus should also turn to the development project at the club. He said grooming very good youngsters could see the club getting onto a self-sustaining trajectory with proceeds ploughed back to improve infrastructure and teams.
“I think going forward we will need to have a deliberate thrust on our juniors. We will have to plough more, every sponsor coming on board will be requested to have a percentage going towards the youngsters.
“In fact one of the major reasons I want to continue serving this club is the implementation of the Youth Academy which I’m passionate about and have already applied and got an approval from the mother body. We are just waiting for a few requirements that we are required to submit. This goes with the modern technical structure that we are also at implementation stage and being a coach myself I make it my line of contribution to the growth of this great club,” said Dube among the men behind youth development of football in Victoria Falls in the 1990s and early 2000s.
Dube also spoke about the Bosso centennial celebrations in two years’ time.
“Who would not want to be part of the Highlanders legacy? I volunteer to be part of the preparations for the history year where the legacy and rich history of the club should be commercialized and set us on a different footing going forward.”
Dube said while he has interest in the academy, he would still have more time for the secretariat operations where his dream is to see an accountable and efficient administration.
“We have to be an accountable and efficient administration to the satisfaction of the membership and corporate world who we owe for our growth and existence.”
Online Reporter