FC Platinum pleased with PSL debut

Premiership.
Shoko boldly declared, when FC Platinum unveiled their players at the Meikles Hotel in Harare, that his club’s immediate mission was to earn a slot in the Champions League.

While FC Platinum failed to win the championship, after losing the race on goal difference to Dynamos, they got their Champions League ticket.
Shoko said the miners have laid the foundation and they should be strong enough next season to bring silverware to Zvishavane.
They agonosingly missed a golden opportunity to become the first cluib, outside Harare and Bulawayo, to win the championship in independent Zimbabwe and only the second club, after St Paul’s Musami in

1965, to do so in the history of the domestic Premiership.

But FC Platinum wants to use their failure to win honours this year as a motivational pill to do even better next season.
“Failure is not fatal and we will back next season,” said Shoko.
“To succeed you have to go through a lot of pain and losing the championship is a platform for future success. I say to the rest of the league we will be back to challenge for honours next season.”

And FC Platinum’s achievement, in securing the Champions League ticket, appears to have gone down with the club’s president.
“We have a higher platform to shine next season now that we are playing in the Champions League,” said Shoko.
“We come from a culture where success is celebrated and that is why we congratulated Dynamos.

“In football there is rivalry but no enemity but next season we do not expect to congratulate others than ourselves.”
FC Platinum registered 12 new faces last week who will be part of the team expected to do duty in the Champions League on February 19 when they take on Green Mambas in their first assignment outside the Zimbabwe borders.

The club has offloaded Norman Maroto, Nengomasha Muranganwa, Itai Ngwangu, William Manondo, Simon Njeleza, Raymond Sibanda, Bekhi Ncube, Simon Njeleza and Tendai Nyamadzawo among others.
FC Platinum have a Division One team which won promotion in the Central Region under the guidance of John Phiri and some of the off-loaded players will be moved there.
The players will continue getting their salaries, according to their specific contracts. Those willing to go on loan will be loaned to clubs of their choice and those willing to buy out their contracts will be offered that chance.

FC Platinum are arguably the best organised Premiership club and one of the best managed football teams on the continent.
Their are currently renovating Mandava into a first-class facility and they are likely to complete the renovation of the stadium before the end of January so that it can host Champions League matches.
Meanwhile, reports last night said former Warriors’ manager and Bosso chairman, Ernest “Mapepa” Sibanda, was set to be unveiled as the new team manager of FC Platinum.