The Sunday Mail
Langton Nyakwenda
Sports Reporter
There were times on Tuesday night when the hands of time seemed to have been turned back to June 2011 when local football giants Dynamos and Highlanders clinched a sponsorship deal with BancABC.
It also felt like that romantic night on Valentine Day in 2018 at Zimbali Gardens in the capital when the country’s “Big Three’’ — CAPS United, Dynamos and Highlanders — sealed a deal with mobile network service provider NetOne.
The only difference on Tuesday night was that the sponsorship deal for DeMbare and Bosso was unique.
Energy firm Sakunda Holdings unveiled an eye-watering US$890 000 for each team per season for the next three years.
This amounts to a cumulative US$5,3 million, which eclipses the US$700 000 that was coughed up by BancABC for each team in 2014, in what was an improved package from the initial US$100 000 per season the bank had released in June 2011.
The dream deal between Sakunda Holdings and the country’s two biggest clubs is US$540 000 more than the US$350 000 per season which CAPS United, Dynamos and Highlanders got from NetOne on February 14, 2018.
It’s a potential game-changer that could trigger the resurgence of the two traditional powerhouses, who have not tasted championship success since Kalisto Pasuwa delivered the fourth successive title for DeMbare in 2014.
The development is exciting the Premier Soccer League management, while football agents and managers believe the package could help stem the exodus that has affected the local game in recent years.
Whereas Zimbabwe used to be a destination of choice for players from countries such as Malawi, Zambia and Ghana, this has since changed, as local players have been flocking in some instances to little-known leagues in Eswatini or Botswana in search of greener pastures.
But football agents feel the new cash injection by Sakunda could help the Premiership retain star players.
“We don’t want our best players to go and work in Tanzania or Zambia.
“But, because of circumstances, I was seeing myself taking players to go and play in Eswatini, players going to play in Zambia for teams like Kansanshi Dynamos, Nkwazi FC, Forest Rangers.
“They (players) have no choice,” says George Deda, who has brokered a number of foreign deals for local players.
“I have first-hand information being an agent. I have over 20 players in the Premiership and I know what they are getting.
“Most of them are even getting less than US$200.
“So this kind of cash injection that has been availed to the clubs, especially these two big clubs, is a welcome development, and I tell you if we have one or two other corporates like Sakunda, football in Zimbabwe will never be the same again.”
The package comes at a time when Bosso were reeling from the impact of Covid-19.
They were on the verge of losing key players, including skipper Ariel Sibanda and Nqobizitha Masuku.
Deda feared that the demise of giants like Bosso would negatively affect the PSL.
“Let me be very honest here: Football in any country is measured by the success of the big teams. If you go to South Africa, you talk of (Orlando) Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs.
“If you go to Zambia, it’s Nkana Red Devils and ZESCO United. If it’s in Kenya, it’s Gor Mahia and AFC Leopards. In Tanzania, it’s about Simba and Young Africans.
“So this is where our football has been going down. And you will also find that interest in local football has gone down as well, because the big teams that have numbers have not been doing well.”
He said the local game also used to have sponsors such as CAPS Holdings, which sponsored CAPS, and Blue Ribbons that bankrolled Dynamos.
“It’s a pity we have some of our talented boys in Zimbabwe that we are losing. I can tell you of Ishmael Wadi; here is a guy who has lit up CAPS United but after two or three games he is off to South Africa, not to Kaizer Chiefs or Orlando Pirates, but . . . he is going to play for a Division One side JDR Stars. But, if we are to analyse what he is getting there, you will find that it’s nothing much more than if he was playing for CAPS United, Dynamos or Highlanders with a better package.”
Trendsetting
Respected player manager Gibson Mahachi is confident the DeMbare and Bosso deal with Sakunda will change the face of local football.
“This deal has a huge positive impact on our football mainly because we are talking of the country’s top two clubs being well-branded and well-equipped by Sakunda Holdings.
“This obviously adds value to our league,” said Mahachi, who manages a number of players and coaches including Warriors gaffer Norman Mapeza.
“When your top clubs in the league are firing, it adds more buzz to the league itself.
“For the players themselves, this is a welcome development, it gives them some sense of security finance-wise.
“This deal goes beyond what you see. It will transform the lives of many because a player has a family that needs to be taken care of.
“We are very proud of what Sakunda have done. We really have to appreciate this. My hope is that we get one or two more big deals like this one,” Mahachi added.
The PSL urged Dynamos and Highlanders to fulfil their end of the bargain.
“We are excited as the Premier Soccer League to have more corporates sponsoring our football.
“It’s good that in the last 10 years we have been attracting sponsors, and this latest one comes at a time when clubs are reeling from Covid-19,” said Kudzai Bare, PSL’s communications and media liaison officer.
“Getting sponsorship is easy but the difficult part is to retain and maintain the sponsorship . . .
“We hope that these partnerships will continue to sustain our football. Sponsorship is the lifeblood of football and clubs should jealously guard them.
“We will be there to assist and guide these clubs where necessary.”
Apart from the US$890 000 per season cash injection for Dynamos and Highlanders, the teams’ coaches and captains were also given top-of-the-range vehicles.
DeMbare coach Tonderai Ndiraya and his Bosso counterpart Mandla Mpofu each got Ford Everest vehicles, while captains Partson Jaure (Dynamos) and Ariel Sibanda will be driving Ford Ranger double-cab trucks.
Tagwirei also donated a US$120 000 house to the late George Shaya’s family and a US$90 000 house each to Dynamos and Highlanders legends Moses Chunga and Madinda Ndlovu, respectively.
