The Sunday Mail
Langton Nyakwenda
Sports Reporter
AMBITIOUS Northern Region side, Simba Bhora, has scored another first after becoming the pioneer lower division team to sign a kit deal with United Kingdom-based sports apparel manufacturers OTB Looks.
The Shamva-based team signed a three-year kit sponsorship deal with OTB Looks on Friday night and joined Premier Soccer League giants Dynamos and Highlanders, who have already secured similar ventures.
Simba Bhora, who have a strong support base in the farming and gold mining town of Shamva and its surrounding areas in Mashonaland Central, were set to make their debut in the Northern Region early this year before Covid-19 wiped off football.
The financially sound club, owned by youthful businessman Simba Ndoro (42), has attracted a number of former Premier Soccer League players like Brian Muzondiwa, Honey Chimutimunzeve, Quality Kangadze, and Nicholas Alifandika.
They have taken the initiative to refurbish their home ground — Wadzanai stadium — a facility widely used by the Shamva community.
And now they have penned a deal which has tickled the Northern Region Division One leadership.
Northern Region chairman, Martin Kweza yesterday described the deal as a game-changer and one that puts a seal of approval on the league.
The Northern Region leadership has been a trendsetting executive that has quietly gone about its business, focussing more on commercialising their flagship league than unnecessary toxic squabbles that have tainted the image of domestic football.
Kweza and his team have sealed deals for such accolades as Coach of the Month and secured car deals for the Player of the Year and Coach of the Year while a package for the goalkeeper of the month is set to be unveiled at the turn of the year.
“From a football perspective, this is a good development. It is coming as a first in our region because most of the time kit sponsors hardly go for Division One teams,” said Kweza.
“The deal has happened at a time the Northern Region Division One league is transforming its image in terms of building a bigger brand that will attract more sponsors.
“And Simba Bhora have started reaping the rewards of their own hard work. Simba Bhora have put up a good structure, look at the stadium they are refurbishing at Wadzanai in Shamva, you can see they are an ambitious side.
“That’s what we encourage as leadership. We need to have more clubs doing the same so that we improve the level of competition in the region.
“The more we do good things, the more we will challenge even the big boys in the Premier Soccer League to do the same,” Kweza said.
Ndoro believes the deal will be viable given his team’s strong support base in Mashonaland Central.
“It’s not a secret we command a huge following, particularly in Shamva and generally in the whole of Mashonaland Central, so we are confident of selling thousands of replicas to our fans,” Ndoro told The Sunday Mail Sport.
“As Simba Bhora we have always talked about professionalism, especially in the way we run our club and this deal is another step towards that goal.
“We want to thank OTB Looks for agreeing to this deal and I want to assure them that they will not regret their marriage with Simba Bhora,” he said.
Simba Bhora are coached by Northern Region Division One football specialist Arthur Tutani who is assisted by Ralph Kawondera (Senior).
