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Nkosilathi Sibanda-Sports Reporter
ZIMBABWE Saints board vice chairperson Ishmael Kaguru says the team’s failure to win games can only be solved if the club gets adequate funding.
Kaguru’s remarks come at a time when the former Premiership team is on the brink of relegation.
Chauya Chikwata, who are one of the teams with a rich history in domestic football, are currently facing collapse.
They are at the bottom of the log standings, having lost all 18 matches played so far in the ZIFA Southern Region Division One League.
This has got the team’s leadership worried, as they were of the view that if there was a cash injection coming their way, the team could move away from the doldrums and reclaim its mojo.
At the helm, the board that carries the responsibility of saving Zimbabwe Saints from demise also comprises Felix Dzumbunu the chairman, Lloyd Munanga the chief executive officer and Gibson Homela, who is the technical manager.
Kaguru, who is counted among Chikwata’s all-weather benefactors, revealed to Zimpapers Sports Hub, in an exclusive interview that the club was in dire need of financial injection to be able to stand on its feet.
“The main challenge we have at Zimbabwe Saints is funding, nothing else,” said Kuguru.
He was frank as he revealed that the team’s leadership was using all its might to look for partners to chip in and save their Division One campaign.
“The situation at our club is affecting everyone and we, as the leadership, are in the process of looking for people to fund us. We are making headway but there is nothing tangible yet.
“There are as many people in the footballing community who are concerned about the club. They want Zimbabwe Saints to get back to its glory,” he said.
He pointed out that they were affected by the present economic hardships.
The Zimpapers Sports Hub has it on good authority that Chauya Chikwata are among clubs that are failing to pay their players and officials and that has manifested in losses on the field of play. The 18-game loss record is one of the worst ever since the club’s formation in 1931.
For Zimbabwe Saints to survive the chop, Kaguru said they propose to have a fundraising campaign among their members.
“Charity begins at home. We have to start contributing the little that we have as members. The bottom line is funding it ourselves. No matter how little we have, it will go a long way in assisting the team. From there, as we look for outside funding, we would have a starting platform,” he said.
Kaguru paid tribute to as many of the club’s former players based in the Diaspora, whom he said have continued to provide a lifeline.
“We are so much encouraged by our former players overseas. They are doing their best to assist the team and if everyone in the club can do that, we will have a start. With that kind of spirit, we can go far.”
“It is an issue of lack of commitment among ourselves, the executive and the supporters. We are our own enemies because we do not want to pay. We just have to do that. Zimbabwe Saints will never die.”
The once mighty Zimbabwe Saints were champions in the then Super League in 1988 and went on to represent the country in the African Cup of Club Champions in the following year and reached the quarter-final stage.
They were also losing semi-finalists in the CECAFA Club Championships in 1988.
Online Reporter