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Tadious Manyepo–Sports Reporter
ZIMBABWEAN football giants Dynamos and Highlanders have been afforded a rare opportunity by their principal sponsors Sakunda Holdings to identify and visit three top European clubs each for the purposes of exchanging notes.
The two teams are being bankrolled by the energy giants for an initial three-year period.
And as part of the several add-ons to the official deals, DeMbare and Bosso have been handed an opportunity to go and learn how top clubs in Europe’s top leagues are being run.
Speaking during the official Sakunda branded OTB Looks made kits for the two clubs in Harare yesterday, Sakunda Holdings chief executive, Kuda Tagwireyi, underlined the company’s commitment to help value-add the two teams.
“Club executives from the two teams will choose three teams in the top European leagues to visit and exchange notes,” said Tagwireyi.
“I am delighted to be sponsoring these two clubs and we will look into different areas where we can help enhance their growth.
“My friend, Modern Ngwenya (aspiring ZIFA vice-president), and I sat down some time last year and came up with the idea to help the teams go for exchange programmes in Europe…”
Dynamos and Highlanders entered into the Sakunda Holdings sponsorship deal in 2021 and they were yet to play in Sakunda branded kits.
But they will be using the exquisite kits starting this weekend following the unveiling yesterday.
Each team received two sets of home, a single away and as many alternative kits.
There is also training and travelling gear in the consignment.
Both Dynamos and Highlanders chairmen, Isaiah Mupfurutsa and Johnfat Sibanda, saluted the sponsors and naturally hailed the latest development.
They are, however, blown away with the fact that their clubs would have an opportunity to benchmark with big teams in Europe, who include Real Madrid, Barcelona, Juventus and Chelsea, among others.
Mupfurutsa said naturally they would have to go for the likes of Real Madrid subject to the Spanish football giants agreeing to invite them but reckoned any other team in the top European leagues can offer a lot for them.
“It is is always good for clubs to have an appreciation of how other big institutions run their affairs. When we are discussing some of these things, let’s say internally, we may not have the same vision on what exactly needs to be done,” said Mupfurutsa.
“But getting this huge opportunity to go out there and benchmark with the big teams who have posted success stories, who have shown the way, will be a great initiative.
“The visits will afford us with an opportunity to exchange notes with the developed clubs who have state-of-the-art infrastructure.
“That is how we can develop as football clubs if we have real ambitions of growing our brands and the way we run things. These visits will also help us develop new ideas which will help us grow.
“Obviously we would love to benchmark with the traditional big clubs like Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich or Barcelona, among others.
“Those are the big clubs which we would naturally prefer to benchmark with but it is also an issue of those clubs agreeing to invite us because we cannot just walk in, we need to have their full blessings.
“But basically, we are okay with exchanging notes with any club in Europe because most of them have a developed system which we can tap in from.
“Think of any club from England, things are run professionally and we can certainly learn from them. We would like to thank our sponsors for the opportunity,” Mupfurutsa said.
His Bosso counterpart Sibanda said the exchange programmes will help the Bulawayo giants move with speed in their quest for commercialisation.
“We are obviously looking at big clubs to exchange notes with. We want to go and see how they are doing it in Europe,” said Sibanda.
“Look at a community club in Spain, Barcelona, for example. This is a community team just like Highlanders and we will be happy to exchange notes with them.
“We can pick their model, take those things we think can work here, try to develop using the model.
“We want to make Highlanders a commercial entity which can be able to draw up profits at the end of the day. We are very grateful Sakunda Holdings are sponsoring us which can allow us even to concentrate on our junior policy.”
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