Ngezi aim to be Sundowns of Zim

By Tadious Manyepo

Ngezi Platinum Stars president, Stanley Segula, says they want to transform the club into the Mamelodi Sundowns of Zimbabwean football.

He wants the club to have the financial muscle to even bring in Brazilian players into the domestic Premiership.

For that to happen, said Segula, the team were now taking a different direction in which their commercial wing will be as important as the results from the pitch.

Segula’s vision appears to be similar to the one which Harare businessman, Nhamo Tutisani, has at CAPS United.

Yesterday, Ngezi Platinum unveiled their kits for this season in Mhondoro-Ngezi, a navy blue home strip and a white away jersey.

They also unveiled a training kit and travelling gear.

“If you look at those global football clubs, we are talking of big business. They make money all round, be it from advertisements, kit supply deals, player sales, among other things, but if you look at our own set-up, those areas are still weak,” said Segula.

“We have not done what ought to be done.

“But, we are saying we can also do it. We have actually formed a commercial division, whose mandate is to look at those areas.

“They are meant to deliver the financial muscle that should be able to sustain our team, I will tell you, at the moment that, in the next two years, Ngezi Platinum will be fully commercial.

“We want to be the Mamelodi Sundowns of Zimbabwe which can attract Brazilians into their team.

“We have a commercial arm, Glenrise which basically funds about 80 percent of the club’s financial requirements so we are very strong there and we are leaving no stone unturned to ensure that financial sustainability of the club is attained.

Segula said Ngezi Platinum want to become a model club.

Ngezi Platinum Stars’ away kit unveiled at the club’s base in Mhondoro-Ngezi yesterday.

“We are coming out of a difficult and desperate Covid-19 induced football lockdown,’’ he said.

“As a club, which has already travelled the journey for five-or-so years and which has really posted some glamorous achievements, on the domestic scene, our vision now is that we want to emulate what the best clubs do out there, in terms of the game.

“As Ngezi Platinum Stars, we want to run the club in a professional manner. This glamorous kit unveiling ceremony is just an announcement of how we want to run things in a trendy way.

“Look, we don’t have a player analyst at the moment and that is just a temporary worry as, in terms of our strategy, we still believe that we should have a strong contingent of staff.

“We also acknowledge that football is now very much scientific, and having an analyst is very necessary, as it is good for the technical team.

“We are results-driven and, like I have said, our key objective is sustainable development of Zimbabwean football.

“We are strongly aspiring to dominate the football landscape, not just in Zimbabwe, but beyond the borders as well.

“But, for us to achieve that, I have been very clear in terms of our vision.”

He said they want players who can attract the attention of clubs from outside the country.

“We aim to develop products which are attractive to the global market.’’

“I have told my committee, on players’ disposal and acquisition, to deliver sustainability.

“They should be able to plan beyond a year and, therefore, we have set for ourselves a minimum of two to three years’ lifespan, in terms of player contracts.

“Not only that but we also want to incentivise our contracts so that when a player joins Ngezi Platinum Stars, he becomes emotionally attached to the team and is motivated to stay beyond his initial term.

“That is our plan but, for season 2021, I am aware that the technical team is working on the players who had lost their fitness significantly, due to a lack of practice.

“We believe that we have the capacity to become one of the best teams in Zimbabwe.”

Replicas for the unveiled kits will be available countrywide, starting next week. The Herald