By Ricky Zililo
BULAWAYO – Highlanders FC’s poor start to the 2015 Premiership campaign took centre stage at a mid-year meeting held at the clubhouse to review the first half of the season.
Bosso members expressed their displeasure at the team’s feeble showing, which has left the fading Bulawayo giants in a lowly eighth position on the log with 19 points from 13 outings.
Highlanders trail city neighbours and log leaders Chicken Inn by 10 points.
In his report, Bosso chairman Peter Dube defended his under-fire coach Bongani Mafu and urged the club’s members to rally behind the team.
Dube remains confident that Highlanders’ fortunes can change if they win three games and the top teams falter.
“Our very first game of the 2015 season against ZPC Kariba seems to have set the tone for average performances. In reality we haven’t had a good start. We’re in an unfamiliar eighth position but things can change for the better if we win three games and hope the top teams drop points. Even if you look at the fixtures, I think they favour us as we approach the last half of the season,” said Dube.
A member who didn’t identify himself said the coach Mafu should stop “talking too much” and concentrate on finding winning solutions for the team.
Another member, who only identified himself as Ndlovu, said it was unacceptable for Bosso to be eighth on the table.
“It’s very painful for a big team like Highlanders to be on position eight at this time of the season. The problem is that we’re buying a lot instead of grooming our own players or even get success-hungry players from the first division like we used to do in the past,” Ndlovu said.
Morgan “Gaza” Dube suggested that since Bosso are out of the championship race, the club should concentrate on building a squad that will challenge for the title next season.
Throughout the meeting, the club chairman defended Mafu, pleading with members not to turn their backs on the team because of poor results.
“When we lose, that’s when the team needs support. The problem is that people shun the team when we lose one or two games. At the end of the day, that even affects our coffers because a few people come to the games,” he said.
Highlanders’ attendance figures have drastically dropped.
Club treasurer Don Ndebele reported that the five home games have seen only 31,000 people attending compared with 43,000 during the same period last season.
Bosso uses revenue generated from gate charges to pay players’ winning bonuses as well as catering to their day-to-day operational needs.
Highlanders are reeling in financial morass after the club only took home $33,819 from the $92,580 generated from their five home games, with the bulk of the money going to service providers.
Ndebele said Highlanders are in the red and sinking deeper into bankruptcy and the club needed to think outside the box to save it from collapsing.
The club’s hierarchy expressed its gratitude to BancABC, which provides 71 percent of Highlanders’ income. The financial institution pays salaries for Bosso coaches and players.
The club is also under siege from its former players, who include Masimba Mambare, Dumisani “Fazo” Ndlovu, Heritein Masuku and Bruce Tshuma, whom they owe outstanding signing-on fees.
The former players have taken legal action to recover their dues. Ndebele also reported that Highlanders still owes some current players signing-on fees.
The meeting ended with Bosso members blocking Ezra “Tshisa” Sibanda from making his contribution on club licensing and the role of the board.
Sibanda was told that the constitution doesn’t allow him to speak on those matters because he is on a membership waiting period having bought his card late last year.
Sibanda was told he could only start making contributions at Highlanders’ meetings next year. The Chronicle
