A healthy Highlanders good for Zimbabwe football
AFRACTION of the bona fide Highlanders membership believed to be over 4 000 will elect a new chairman, secretary and committee member in Bulawayo tomorrow.
It is a tall order to be vested with such a responsibility for a club that has millions of people rooting for it globally.
The future lies in the plus/minus 400 people that have consistently attended the annual general meetings and elections to decide on the leadership to carry Highlanders into its second century.
To many in the family it is a do-ordie meeting and the club has to evolve soon to be a self-sustaining entity buoyed on by an immaculate history that has some of the biggest names in world football that have donned the team’s colours like former Liverpool goalkeeper Bruce Grobbelaar, former Coventry star Peter Ndlovu — a history making African footballer who became the first from the Motherland to play in the English Premiership, Luton Town’s Warriors captain Marvellous Nakamba and English FA Cup winner Benjani Mwaruwari.
Other prominent stars to come out of the club include Majuta Mpofu, who could have been the first Zimbabwean to play in Brazil; Madinda Ndlovu, Mercedes Sibanda, Willard Khumalo, Zenzo Moyo, Joel Luphahla, Noel Kasele, Eddie Mashinya, Mkhokheli Dube, Methembe Ndlovu and Alexander Maseko. These have been great ambassadors of Highlanders beyond the country’s borders.
The elections should usher in a leadership that sees beyond fulfilling the 2024 PSL and Zifa fixtures as a priority. They carry the aspirations and the vision for the future of arguably the oldest proven Premier Soccer League in Zimbabwe who many are worried that despite its big profile it is so many strungs behind the continent’s big boys Aly Ahly, TP Mazembe, Orlando Pirates, Kaizer Chiefs, Mamelodi Sundowns, El Merreikh, Raja Casablanca, and Hearts of Oak to mention a few.
It is sad to see that the 98-year-old club has failed to grow as an entity capitalising on its brand value and human capital’s good will. There is a thin line between the future and demise and the club has Sakunda Holdings to thank for continued survival in the last three years.
Sakunda became a God-sent gift when in 2021 they came on board to take care of Dynamos and Highlanders at a time both were teetering on the brink of collapse.
Both teams were at low financial positions and had disgruntled players and technical staff who were further frustrated by the effects of Covid19 which had curtailed activity. For football when there is no activity players do not get money they are paid as out of station, out of pocket allowances and appearance fees with winning bonuses.
Over the years, stagnancy has hit Highlanders with the team chasing its 18th season without a league title, the longest in the club’s history ever since the club joined association football in 1969.
It is disappointing that Highlanders
used to churn out gems year in and year out from the 1960s. Nowadays days they are struggling to produce high grade players who can walk into the first team as teenagers as did predecessors Peter Ndlovu, Adam Ndlovu, Mercedes Sibanda, Madinda Ndlovu, Noel Kaseke, Nqobizitha Maenzanise and Tutani Moyo.
It is sad to note that the visionaries that ran the club in the 1980s — Ndumiso Gumede, Landcart Gumpo, Jahalamajaha Dlamini, Enock Mangena, Josiah Nxumalo and Shadreck Sibanda left a legacy that many since then have failed to emulate. They had unique brains and invested in real estate.
Highlanders have a camping house, Hotel California, a clubhouse with training fields, a bar, netball and basketball courts and offices in the Central Business District. Since then the club has failed to grow its real estate with squabbles over the control of the team between factions of followers being the club’s biggest undoing over the last decade.
Very few chairpersons have enjoyed their stay as rival factions derail their plans. Chairpersons and their secretary-generals have been restricted to one term which is not long enough for one to implement projects to fruition.
While the corporate governance tenet attempt is plausible as they subject themselves to an annual general meeting with an audit, it is a worrying factor that there are cries over financial mismanagement and the club has been accused of protecting thieving officials.
They must be named and damned, those are public funds and deserve better protection.
So as people cast their votes tomorrow, they must put the club first and, in the process, promote a healthy Highlanders.
Hopes are high that members will vote Highlanders and that the team will be the winner. Tomorrow’s elections should mark the awakening of the giant we all know Bosso to be as they head for the team’s milestone of 100 years in 2026.
Last season was one of the better campaigns for the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League and this was largely because of Highlanders even though the championship went to Ngezi Platinum while Dynamos claimed the Chibuku Super Cup.
Highlanders went unbeaten for the first 19 matches and there are indications that their home matches accounted for 40 percent of the league’s attendances for the 2023 season. The other 17 clubs accounted for the remaining 60 percent.
An impressive start by Highlanders resulted in renewed interest in local football last year as the country is still battling to recover from the Covid-19 effects on attendances.
The renewed interest, inspired by Highlanders’ resurgence, is what will revive the game nationally and result in stronger national teams at all levels.
Football in Zimbabwe needs a healthy Highlanders and this should be at the back of Bosso members’ minds when they convene to select their leadership tomorrow.