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Robson Sharuko in VICTORIA FALLS
DYNAMOS and Highlanders were taken into a world, which places an emphasis on asset value enhancement and revenue streams, as their three-day Strategic Retreat Workshop came to a close here yesterday.
The leaders of the country’s biggest, and most successful football clubs, were back to school this week, as part of efforts by their principal sponsors, Sakunda Holdings, to start the process of adding value to these two giant brands.
The high-profile workshop was appropriately held in Victoria Falls, as if the organisers wanted the two giants to get a full appreciation of how the profile of a place, or an entity like their two clubs, can be converted into revenue generation.
Leading transformational agents, Zwelibanzi Ndlovu and Russell Mhiribidi, were tasked with taking the leaders of the two camps, through a number of initiatives, which can help transform them into thriving commercial beasts.
The giants will today leave the resort capital and return to their bases with the sponsors convinced they will use what they learnt here to take the first steps to conduct their business, in a different way.
Sakunda Holdings signed a three-year deal with both DeMbare and Bosso, to provide them with a foundation, on which the two giants can build their houses, into strong fortresses, consistent with their huge profiles.
They want the two giants to be in a position where they can be self-sufficient, by the time the sponsorship deal comes to an end, with both DeMbare and Bosso capable of getting the best players, and coaches, to spearhead their quest for success.
The two giants have found themselves at the crossroads, with their size and considerable appeal, among fans, no longer a guarantor of both success and survival.
The arrival of Moneybags like FC Platinum and Ngezi Platinum, whose financial muscles have given them the privilege to recruit some of the best players, and coaches, in the country, have changed the domestic football landscape.
Dynamos, who won seven of the first 10 league championship races, after Independence, have not won the biggest prize, on the domestic football scene, by bullying their opponents into submission, are yet to win a league title, in seven years.
Incredibly, even one of the only two clubs, which prevented them from winning 10 straight championships, needed a huge Dynamos influence, in terms of players and coaches, for them to win two league titles.
Black Rhinos, who won two league championships during that era, needed huge contributions from the DeMbare stable, for them to reach the Promised Land.
Zimbabwe Saints were the only other club which managed to win the league title in the ’80s.
Highlanders, who won the first four league championship, at the turn of the millennium, are yet to win another title, after their last triumph, in 2006.
But, Sakunda Holdings believe all that can be changed, and an investment into an exercise, to help the leaders of the two giants appreciate the changes, which have happened, and how to confront the future, can turn the tide.
Yesterday, the leaders were taught about asset value enhancement and revenue streams, on the final day of the strategic retreat.
They were also taught about inclusivity and the digital transformation which has happened in football.
Two legends — Moses Chunga of Dynamos and Madinda Ndlovu of Highlanders — have been part of the crew attending the retreat.
On Wednesday, Ndlovu, one of the consultants, told them he believes it’s not just about their failure to win the championships, which is worrying, but the poor state of their financial base.
A review of their operations was necessary, for DeMbare and Bosso, to help them ensure they can convert their huge potential into value, to enable them to confront the challenges they are facing today and which are likely to confront them in the future.
Ndlovu believes that even if DeMbare and Bosso have questionable leaders, the sheer potential they have should be enough, if the right systems are in place, to ensure their yearly financial statements are in good shape.
Even in the seasons they don’t win trophies, which is possible in football, Ndlovu feels both clubs should still have impressive financial statements to report to their members.
The potential, which they have, needs to be harnessed into real value which should ensure they never find themselves being dragged towards the abyss of bankruptcy.
To achieve that, he said, the leadership at the two clubs need to understand their product, where to sell it and when and how to deliver it.
They need to review all their activities, which are aimed at generating new business, for both their existing and potential clients.
There was need for a deliberate move by the two giants, Ndlovu said, to ensure their camps proactively pursue the bringing in of new business, into their stables.
The consultant felt the current set-up, where the marketing arms at the two clubs are the ones with the smallest number of people, was not conducive for progress, in terms of improving their financial base.
Therefore, he said, it was key for the marketing departments to be properly resourced to ensure that experts, who have a proven track in generating new business, are brought on board.
Such experts should then be given targets, by the club’s leaders, with everyone pulling together in pursuit of those thresholds, to generate revenue for the two clubs.
There was also a need to strengthen their channels of delivery to ensure provision of service, at the right time, quality and cost, to their clients.
Ndlovu believes that, with the right approach, both DeMbare and Bosso should have attained self-sufficiency, within the next two years.
Online Reporter