Chronicle Editor
Raymond Jaravaza, Sports Correspondent
Plumtree businesses have been urged to support football which is fast becoming big business across the world.
Deputy Minister of Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) Dingumuzi Phuti said businesses should plough back to the communities that they operate in by sponsoring local football teams.
Phuti, a Member of Parliament for Bulilima West Constituency, was the guest of honour at the launch of a partnership between Greens Supermarket and Zifa Southern Region league side Mainline FC in Plumtree last weekend.
The partnership between the football club and Greens Supermarket will see the team’s membership cards and jerseys being sold at the retail outlet in the border town.
“The coming together of Greens Supermarket and Mainline FC is not only a partnership between a football club and a local business but a bold statement that says in unity we will prosper and achieve great things as people of Bulilima, Mangwe and Plumtree Town,” said Phuti.
He said all over the world businesses support football and pour in billions of dollars, a confirmation that football is now big business which contributes immensely to economies of developed countries.
“I want to appeal to local businesses to sponsor local teams such as Mainline FC, which is helping keep our kids out of the streets,” said Deputy Minister Phuti.
Mainline FC is the only team which hails from the border town that plays in the Zifa Southern Region, a second-tier division after the Premier Soccer League.
The club is sponsored by co-directors Jonathan Ndlovu and Mkhulunyelwa Nkomo.
After the partnership launch, the club honoured its outstanding players that excelled in the 2019 season.
The team survived relegation in the just ended season and is looking at bolstering its squad to try and improve next year.
“It wasn’t a good season for us by all standards as we found ourselves deep in the relegation zone at one point but we managed to pull to safety. This year was our second season in Division One so we are still a relatively young side in the league but look forward to doing better next year,” said co-director Ndlovu. – @RaymondJaravaza
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