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Tadious Manyepo
Sports Reporter
FORMER Warriors skipper Willard Katsande has challenged sportspersons to venture into business and contribute to the country’s Growth Domestic Product.
The decorated ex-Kaizer Chiefs midfielder said this after his clothing line Boss YaMboka sealed a lucrative deal with ambitious Castle Lager Premier Soccer League side Simba Bhora this week.
Katsande jetted into the country from his base in South Africa last Saturday and immediately concluded the deal which will see Simba Bhora travelling and training in Boss YaMboka gear.
Apparently, the former Gunners star had been talking with Simba Bhora administration led by club president Simba Ndoro and the two parties principally agreed everything before Katsandecame toto put pen to paper.
Katsande started his clothing line a few years ago and the brand is one of the best performing new entrant in South Africa.
The Simba Bhora deal has become the first time the Boss YaMboka entity has entered into football and Katsande is confident this is the beginning of its dominance in the football circles.
“We have chosen to start with Simba Bhora due to the professionalism that the team is displaying in their debut season in the top-flight.
“The club president Simba Ndoro also gets to people. He understands the pain of a supporter, player and members of the technical team because he gets to where people are not necessarily Simba Bhora people but football people.
“This is why we, as Boss YaMboka, found it easy to first approach Simba Bhora because we share the vision,” said Katsande.
“We are into clothing line and they are from football but at the end of the day both of us want the community to win.
“We have already done some donations and we are now looking to deliver the full deal consignment.
“We are very happy to have sealed this deal. Very soon you will see Simba Bhora travelling in Boss YaMboka costumes and even in the gym.
“Football is where I came from and without football I don’t think I would have been here.
“We are trying to inspire the young ones and also try to inspire those who will be leaving the game that you can do something past your playing days. You can even start a car wash, battery charging station or even sell vehicle spares among other simple things.
“You can even start whilst you are still playing the game or just have an idea of what you could pursue when you are past your playing days.
“For me, running this clothing line was easy because I always believed that if you dress nicely, you feel good and confident.
“Luckily, I have a wife with a degree in Fashion and Designing so it helped me a lot.
“We are trying to break the borders because in South Africa the brand is doing really well. It has been well received. A lot of people have been supportive since day one”.
Katsande hailed leading sungura musician Alick Macheso for helping out in marketing the Boss YaMboka brand.
“We are heading in the right direction. Here in Zimbabwe we also need to show some gratitude to sungura musician Alick Macheso who has been very influential in terms of the growth of the Boss YaMboka brand.
“In life you don’t need to make enemies. You need to make friends. During my playing days, I used to always attend Alick Macheso’s shows with a lot of friends,” said Katsande.
“So in trying to be consistent, we had to come here and break into the footballing industry.
“We are appealing to the community to support our brand.
“We started like a joke but here we are and we want to keep on growing”.
Ndoro hailed the Boss YaMboka partnership.
“When Katsande approached us, we saw the many positives in the deal. After all, Katsande is one of our own and we thought why can’t we be proud to associate with a clothing line owned by our former national team captain.
“We are honoured to have been the first team to partner with the Boss YaMboka brand,” said Ndoro.
“We are looking forward to receiving the first batch of our consignment in the next few weeks.
“It’s a win-win arrangement and this is what we aspire for as Simba Bhora Football Club”.
Online Reporter