What makes FC Platinum tick?

Sports Reporter
FC Platinum failed in their bid to win the Castle Lager Premiership, for the first time in history, and become the first club – from outside Harare and Bulawayo – to be crowned champions in 49 years.

The Zvishavane side started slowly, with a section of the fans even calling for the head of coach Norman Mapeza, but the club stuck with their man and, with two games to the end of the season, they were in the title race.

However, a home draw against a resurgent CAPS United ended their bid to follow in the footsteps of the Davies Babes, the team from St Paul’s Musami, who are the only club – from outside the country’s two biggest cities – to have won the league title in 1966.

There have been a number of changes in the FC Platinum set-up, in the past few years, with a new leadership, headed by George Mawere, the club president, now running the club.

The club is also now an independent entity, weaned from their parent company who founded it, and, recently, its leadership cleared the air on a number of questions:

Question: Does FC Platinum (Pvt) Ltd Company have a board of trustees and, if so, who are these trustees and how did they come to occupy positions on the board?

Answer: FC Platinum is a company limited by guarantee. It currently has our guarantors. As the company was formed the serve the club’s interests, these guarantors were appointed by virtue of being the football club’s executive.

Q: Did or does FC Platinum have land in Mtonjeni where you guys intended to build a soccer village and related commercial activities? Is that project still on and, if so, at what stage?

A: FC Platinum does have land in Mtonjeni where it intends to build a soccer village. This, however, is a long-term plan which will be initiated once funds permit.

Q: Your sponsorship with FBC MasterCard is no longer on your shirts. Can you give us a clue as to how, or why, it came to an end?

A : The sponsorship was only for one year, 2012.

Q: Do you still have an official relationship with Cell Insurance funeral policy, which catered for the lives, injuries for your players and staff? If not, can you shed some light as to how that relationship ended?

A: The company and the club have an official relationship with Cell Insurance, whose package includes 24-hour insurance cover, funeral and medical aid for players and staff.

Q: Are you still pursuing the drive to have sports shops, for the club, around the country, including one in Harare?

A: Yes, we are. These are, however, long-term plans that will be pursued once funds permit.

Q: Is there any truth in that the FC Platinum service station was closed after the club, or is it the company that now runs the club, failed to pay the supplier?

A: The business was not viable due to its location and capacity of the facility, hence a strategic decision was made to fold it.

Q: Three years ago, did the leadership at the parent company, Mimosa, decide to terminate the sponsorship of the club and was that move only shot down because of the intervention of the previous leadership who presented a business plan which, however, has never been implemented and is it true that some of the things being done by the current leadership used to be considered to be part of a web of things, regarded as unethical business practice that bordered on insider trading, by the company?

A: The business concepts were mooted in 2011 by the previous leadership who also partially implemented them while the parent ministry was engaged in wide consultations regarding insider trading and conflict of interest. The current leadership is mandated to implement the concepts.

Q: Who provides supplies for the club and does that person have any official role, or connection, to the club’s leadership?

A: Procurement at the club is guided by the company’s procurement procedures and systems which place emphasis on quality and competitiveness.

Q : Mandava Stadium, has the project now been completed as originally planned or there have been decisions to suspend other developments and, if so, is the reason financial? Did you finally add the doping facilities as originally planned?

A : Critical facilities are now available at the stadium. Other developments will be completed once funds are permitting.