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Tadious Manyepo Sports Reporter
HIGHLANDERS are four years from celebrating their centurion anniversary and the hope is, by then, the team would have totally transformed.
A four-member strong delegation, led by board chairman Luke Mkandla, left the country yesterday for a milestone benchmarking exercise with top European football clubs including Barcelona and Manchester United.
The epoch-changing trip is the brainchild of Bosso’s principal sponsors, Sakunda Holdings, who are also bankrolling the 10-day sojourn.
Mkandla is accompanied by executive chairman Johnfat Sibanda, secretary Morgen Dube and the treasurer Busani Mthombeni.
The trip is meant to experience first hand how global football powerhouses run their clubs.
Dube said the learning and familiarisation programme will enable them to implement what they would have learnt at the country’s oldest club.
“The hope is by the time we celebrate our 100th anniversary, we would have turned a leaf.
“Remember we are 96 years old right now and in four years time, we would be 100.
“This trip should open our path to the modern trends administratively and technically,” said Dube.
“We would like to thank our sponsors, Sakunda Holdings, for making sure the trip came together.
“It’s them (Sakunda Holdings) who came up with the idea and they are also funding the tour.
“We would like to salute them and we hope that by the time we celebrate our 100th anniversary, we would have everything in place in terms of modern football.
“A lot is involved in the running of clubs and we are very sure, we will pick a lot from this tour.”
The delegation is expected to arrive in France today and will immediately visit Paris Saint Germain where they will meet officials from the club.
They are also expected to watch PSG in action in the Uefa Champions League tomorrow before they continue with their tour.
Dube and Mthombeni will head to England where they will tour Manchester City and Manchester United facilities while Sibanda and Mkandla will be in Barcelona.
The quartet will reunite in Brussels, Belgium, on Friday where they are scheduled to visit Anderlecht and Club Brugge.
The delegation is also billed to watch the two teams in action when they face each other at the weekend before they head back home on October 18.
“Basically, we are looking at how these clubs and the several academies we will visit are structured in terms of leadership and management.
“We will also tour their training facilities seeing how they manage them.
“There is also this issue of match day process including ticketing and commercial sustainability, those issues,” said Dube.
He said the club will also take this opportunity to negotiate for twinning with academies and teams from this continent.
Highlanders and Dynamos were promised the adventure by Sakunda Holdings when the energy company unveiled a three-year sponsorship for both in September last year.
The Glamour Boys will also visit three European countries after the Highlanders delegation returns home.
A four-member team led by executive chairman Isaiah Mupfurutsa is expected to travel to Europe next month for the same mission as Highlanders.
Online Reporter