Online Reporter
Fungai Muderere, Zimpapers Sports Hub
IT is work in progress at the Highlanders Sports Club, where earth moving equipment has been deployed to dig the foundation of a perimeter wall that is set to see the facility getting a new look at the same time providing a creative idea for revenue generation where corporates and other partners can brand their products on the wall.
The concept was reportedly initiated by Bulawayo businessman, Jabulani Nkomo and the late renowned football administrator Ndumiso Gumede, almost a decade ago.
In an interview with a local production house last Friday, Nkomo, who is the son to the late Vice-President John Landa Nkomo, said it was important to get on and over with the job, projecting that within a fortnight, the 257 panel wall should be standing out as demarcation of the clubhouse perimeter.
“We have started the trenching. We hope that the trenching will be done in the next hours after that we will start laying the foundation of the wall. It will take us another two days or so to make sure that everything is set for us to start working,” said Nkomo.
Nkomo further said: “We anticipate that coming next Monday (tomorrow), we should be having our boss coming through to cement the manpower and start putting things together. We hope that in the next two weeks we will be having the wall come out of the ground.”
In honour of the late Gumede, a former Zifa vice-president, Bosso chairman, chief executive officer and president, Nkomo revealed that one of the panels will be set aside for the celebrated administrator’s portrait.
“We are more than willing to put something even bigger for him because he is the one who inspired me to carry on with this.
He is the one, who encouraged me that it will help Highlanders a lot. He is the one who said Highlanders will be have a better clubhouse if there is a perimeter wall around the property,” said Nkomo, who is the Bosso curator of the recently donated US$1 million sponsorship from prominent businessman and philanthropist, Wicknell Chivayo, marking one of the largest single donations in the club’s history.
The club has also begun an extensive upgrade of its training fields and facilities, a move that could mark a turning point in its long standing infrastructure struggles courtesy of a funding that came as a tribute to the late Vice-President Nkomo.
To ensure transparency and accountability, Chivayo appointed Jabulani to act as curator of the funds. His role involves working directly with the Highlanders executive on disbursement protocols.
The US$1 million sponsorship, set to be disbursed in phases, is already being felt beyond infrastructure development. It allowed Bosso to clear US$57 000 in outstanding bonuses owed to players and the technical team from the 2023 and 2024 seasons.
Chivayo explained that the sponsorship is intended to bolster player welfare, strengthen club administration, and support recruitment for the 2025 Castle Lager Premier Soccer League season.—@FungaiMuderere
Londile Moyo