The Sunday Mail
Sports Reporter
STUNG by several months of inactivity and massive losses of gate receipts due to the ban on supporters at football matches, Premiership giants Dynamos have sought the assistance of business consultants to find new ways of generating revenue.
The Harare giants announced in a statement yesterday that they had reviewed the situation at the club following challenges spawned by Covid-19 and came up with structural changes in their administration.
This has also seen veteran administrator and chief executive officer, Jonathan Mashingaidze, leaving his post as head of the secretariat and becoming one of the consultants who will be tasked with marketing the Dynamos brand.
DeMbare and their major rivals Highlanders, in particular, rely heavily on gate revenue from the huge support bases they command.
But the two giants of Zimbabwean football have been the most affected since Covid-19 struck and resulted in the Government banning spectators from all sport as part of a raft of health protocols to contain the spread of coronavirus.
In their statement issued by executive member in charge of marketing and communications, Tinashe Farawo, Dynamos noted the need to adjust to “the new normal’’ occasioned by the impact that Covid-19 has had on global economies.
“Following the “new normal” dictates on all sectors of the economy, Dynamos Football Club will be rolling out strategic structural changes which will come into effect as from 1st September 2021.
“These changes are meant to help the club deal with the challenges of running football as a business under the obtaining harsh Covid-19 induced circumstances.
“The club will be deploying top business consultants onto the market to help mobilise material and financial resources ahead of the next football season,’’ Farawo said.
He said it was also imperative that Dynamos exploites some of the commercial ventures such as the sale of the club’s merchandise and memorabilia.
“The thrust is to monetise the club’s potential commercial opportunities which have not been optimally exploited.
“The club, as part of the strategic structural changes, has also deployed the chief executive officer, Mr Jonathan Mashingaidze, to a strategic role of a business consultant.
“The deployment will see the chief executive officer join the pool of top consultants and given his international exposure and strategic linkages, the club looks forward to benefiting immensely from his new freelance role.
“The club will be making structural adjustments following the departure of the chief executive officer with effect from 1st September 2021’’. Farawo urged Dynamos fans to get vaccinated to help speed up their return to the games.
“Meanwhile, the club is looking forward to the return of football once the authorities give the green light for the return of the people’s game under stringent Covid-19 protocols.
“We urge our fans to join the rest of the nation in taking up vaccination as a life-saving priority as the Club would like the to see the fans back at the stadia in their numbers.
“Sport without the colourful fans is lifeless. We urge our players, technical staff, office staff, administrators and fans to mask up, sanitise, wash hands and maintain social distance during this difficult period,’’ he said.
