NetOne seek legal assistance

Shield at the National Sports Stadium on Sunday.
The match between Dynamos and Motor Action was nearly called off after Dynamos refused to use the kits supplied by the sponsors of the Charity Shield, NetOne, citing their contract with their principal sponsors BancABC who hold exclusive rights to the club’s playing kits.
Dynamos wanted the jerseys to be designed in such a way that gave BancABC, as their sponsors, advertising space at the front.
But an agreement could not be immediately reached until the match day.
NetOne yesterday registered their dismay at the bickering, which nearly caused the abandonment of the match, and sources at the company said their legal team is now engaging PSL over the row.
According to the tournament regulations, both teams were supposed to put on the jerseys provided by the sponsors of the Charity Shield.
NetOne signed a three year contract with PSL to sponsor the Charity Shield in 2011 and they are now in their second year of bankrolling the season-opening competition, whose proceeds are channelled towards charity. The company poured in US$250 000 this year, up from US$200 000 last year.
“As NetOne we are not happy with what transpired on Sunday,” said the source.
“The issue is now being attended to by the management and our legal team. It has gone legal because there were breaches on some of the contractual obligations in the agreement entered to between NetOne and the Premier Soccer League for the Charity Shield game.
“The lawyers are going to assess what exactly happened and they will give advice on what course of action to take afterwards,” said the source.
The match hung in the balance until a last minute compromise was reached after the Glamour Boys had threatened to withdraw from the competition citing their contractual obligation with BancABC, which compels them not to wear any other branded kits that do not carry their logo at the front.
But NetOne, the sponsors of the Charity Shield, had already ordered a branded kit for the two clubs that featured the cellular network company’s logo on the front of the players’ jerseys. Dynamos, who were acting on the directive of their principal backers BancABC, refused to take part in the match using the NetOne kits, for fear of losing their sponsorship with the financial institution who foot their salaries bill and have committed US$165 000 for their African safari this year.
But after prolonged negotiations, NetOne finally gave in to the club’s demands to save the situation.
PSL chief executive Kenny Ndebele confirmed they have received correspondence from NetOne over the issue but said they will not rush to make a statement until they get the directive from their lawyers.
“We are still consulting and I think we will issue a statement over this issue probably on Wednesday. We received the letter from NetOne and it’s in the hands of our lawyers. At the moment we have been directed by our lawyers not to make any statements,” said Ndebele.
PSL management committee member, Cuthbert Chitima, said the clubs were both suppossed to use the NetOne kit as per the agreement they entered into with the sponsors. Chitima, speaking to ZBC last night, said it was unfortunate that they did not have specific details of the deal entered into between Dynamos and BancABC.