Chronicle Editor
Ricky Zililo, Senior Sports Reporter
RETURNING Highlanders striker, Prince Dube, is among the five senior team players likely to form the backbone of the squad that will face Chicken Inn in the Commander Zimbabwe National Army Challenge match this weekend.
Bosso and Chicken Inn will square off at Barbourfields Stadium on Sunday in a match the ZNA is targeting to raise $20 000 to be channelled towards the construction of a secondary school in Mbalabala, Matabeleland South province.
Highlanders’ senior team players have been on strike, with only five players, Dube, midfielder Mbekezeli Sibanda, who had a brief stint in Slovakia, national Under-20 captain Andrew Mbeba, central defender Vincent Moyo and striker Russell Chifura training with the development side.
The first team players continued with their strike after turning down pleas by club chairman Kenneth Mhlophe to return to work while waiting for salary deposits to be made into their accounts.
Yesterday marked a week of industrial action by Bosso players, who are insisting that they will only return to training after being paid their January and February salaries.
Mhlophe met the players at Barbourfields Stadium yesterday morning alongside his deputy Modern Ngwenya, secretary Israel Moyo and chief executive officer Nhlanhla Dube.
“We met the players, gave them assurances that we are working round the clock to have their concerns addressed. The meeting didn’t yield the desired result. We will field a strong side against Chicken Inn and the technical manager (Madinda Ndlovu) has indicated that the players training, mostly from our development side who have been identified as almost ready for first team, have been doing well. Everything is under control and the players that will do duty on Sunday will do a good job for the club,” said Mhlophe.
It will be unfair to the development players that are yearning for first team action to be thrown aside for the Charity Shield, yet they’ve been training hard in the absence of senior players.
Some of the up-and-coming players from Bosso 90, include defensive midfielder Darlington Munkuli, central defender Cardwell Gawaza, left-back Archiford Faira, winger Daniel Msendami, attacking midfielder Onwell Gombami, right-back Sylvester Ndlovu, midfielder Dominic Jaricha and striker, Brighton Makopa.
The winner of Sunday’s game will pocket $10 000 with the loser going home with $5 000.
– @ZililoR.
Online Reporter