Buildcon owner salutes Zim players

BUILDCON owner Moses Mubanga says Zimbabwean players have contributed in a big way to the development of the game in the region and this persuaded them to hold a pre-season camp in the country.

The Zambian moneybags, who windoff their training camp with a high-profile game against Harare giants Dynamos this afternoon, have been in the country for the past two weeks.

During their stay, they played friendly games against Premiership sides Ngezi Platinum Stars, Herentals, Black Rhinos, Yadah and this afternoon they face Dynamos at the National Sports Stadium.

Mubanga said they were looking forward to learning a lot from the Zimbabweans as he hopes to grow his side into one of the African giants.

This is their second year in the Zambian Super Division.

“We are extremely happy of what we are seeing here. We realise that the type of football that we are seeing in Zimbabwe is not different from what we have in Zambia.

“Also one important factor is that we have seen a lot of Zimbabwean players doing quite a lot in the (South Africa) PSL and therefore you can only ignore the contribution of Zimbabwe to the development of football in Africa at your own peril.

“We thought it prudent that if we needed to learn more and experience more, then we could easily go to our neighbours and experience new things.

“We are a very young team with a lot of learning to do.

“For us, it’s a great pleasure to play a team like Dynamos. I think what is important for us are the lessons that we pick from the match and not anything else. So we are very much humbled that we will be playing a team of Dynamos’ calibre and pedigree.

“We are looking at this opportunity as something that can develop into a much bigger relationship. This is only a starting point, but we believe that so many relationships should be brought about by these arrangements.

“We can only hope that there will be mutual benefits for both Buildcon FC and all the teams that we are going to interact with in Zimbabwe going forward,” said Mubanga.

Buildcon have since snapped up four Zimbabwean players - Partson Jaure, Nqobizitha Masuku, Devon Chafa and goalkeeper Tatenda Mukuruva - who have been unveiled alongside other stars from Ghana, Kenya, Uganda and Nigeria.

They have built a reputation back in Zambia for their spending power, with a lot of backing from their millionaire club owner’s construction company called Buildcon Investments.

However, Mubanga said it was not about the money, but the passion he has in developing football.

“What is basically driving the club is the passion and not probably what has been reported widely, I mean the level of investment.

“So what we are trying to say is that, as Buildcon, we have realised that the low levels of sport commercialisation will not be able to drive sport in football. So it calls for a lot of sacrifice for us to ensure that we achieve what we want as a team.

“The focus that we have is to try and do something different, but as we do that, we realise that there is a lot of learning that we have to do.

“We may not be among the biggest clubs in our country, but what we are trying to do is we are trying to look at things differently.

“We obviously see ourselves as a very big team in the near future and I am sure that can be confirmed by the level of commitment in terms of the investments that we have been pushing into football. We are definitely serious and we want to be a top team in Africa in the next five years,” said Mubanga.

Both Buildcon and Dynamos are preparing for new campaigns in their respective leagues.

DeMbare have been preparing in earnest under coach Lloyd Mutasa, who is now convinced his boys are nearing perfection ahead of the big kick-off next week.

Mutasa, who appeared to develop a special liking for his juniors after the seniors went on strike two weeks ago, has said no player is guaranteed a starting place in his team.

The predominantly second-string side conquered both CAPS United and Highlanders to lift the ZNA Charities Shield.

“You play the way you train. Everyone has to fight for his place in the team.

“But with a week to go, you would want to make sure that every player has got the chance to play.

“I think this is the right opportunity to give some of the players who have not been training as well. We had given some of our players some time off.

“I am sure we are going to blend those who have played during our pre-season ZNA Charities tournament with the senior players,” said Mutasa.