peter
Sports Reporter
VICTORIA Falls town clerk Ronnie Dube has challenged Sakunda Holdings to partner his council in upgrading Chinotimba Stadium into a multi-purpose venue to attract international sporting events to the resort city.
In his welcome remarks to Highlanders, who are in Victoria Falls with Dynamos for a key strategic workshop being hosted by their principle sponsor Sakunda Holdings, Dube said his city had missed out on playing host to international sporting teams because of the absence of sporting facilities.
He said some years back Spanish giants Barcelona wanted to set up their off-season camp in Victoria Falls but were forced to abort their plans and settled for Johannesburg, South Africa, due to no suitable training facilities.
“We are looking for partners to upgrade Chinotimba Stadium and maybe your partners Sakunda should consider coming in and we brand it.
“We border three countries, Zambia, Botswana and Namibia, and if we had an international standard stadium, Victoria Falls could easily stage an annual four-nation tournament to help develop football in our four countries,” said Dube.
He said Victoria Falls has strong interests in diversifying its tourism packages to cater for a broader market, and sport remains a crucial part of that strategy.
“I believe in our interactions we will deliberate on how we can possibly share ideas and deliver a service oriented sporting product.
The local authority is cognisant of the role of sport in our community and its potential to pull visitors into Zimbabwe through various tournaments, thus a commitment to deliver world class sporting facilities.
“The two football giants have in their books Tymon Mvula (Dynamos) and Andrew Tandi (Highlanders, who are products of our council run school Mosi-Oa-Tunya High, and that triggers a thought of possible partnerships on talent identification and development partnerships.
We have a leaf to take from your experience and the raw talent in our community stands to benefit,” he said.
The Highlanders and Dynamos boards and executive committees were taken to Victoria Falls by Sakunda Holdings for an intense three-day strategic brainstorming session that should give birth to business plans capable of sustaining the two teams with or without sponsorship following the multimillion dollar package extended to them by the energy heavyweight.
If properly utilised, the three-year sponsorship package can enable both clubs to set up self-sustainable structures that will generate revenue to fund the clubs’ operations and restore their fading giant status in local football.
They’re expected to produce bankable business strategies by early next year with the help of consultants brought in by Sakunda Holdings.
Online Reporter