Chiefs in no rush to choose home ground

BULAWAYO Chiefs will not rush into choosing a preferred home ground for their Premiership campaign next year although the club has also not ruled out a possible move to Gwanda or Hwange.

The Zifa Southern Region Division One side stormed into the elite league on Wednesday after shrugging off a tame challenge from Hwange’s Makomo side at Hartsfield Ground to take their points tally to an unassailable 56 with six games to spare.

“We are yet to sit down as an executive to map the way forward even though for now we can say our home ground will be in Bulawayo but we can’t rule out a possible shift to either Pelandaba Stadium in Gwanda or Colliery Stadium in Hwange. For now though we just want to enjoy this moment of qualifying to the Premiership,” said an elated club chairman James Rugwevera.

With Hwange struggling in the Premiership, local football fans will not be starved of Premiership action should Bulawayo Chiefs choose to move to the Colliery in the event that Hwange is chopped. Pelandaba Stadium was last used as a Premier League ground during the now defunct Njube Sundowns error and might need a fee touch ups.

The Bulawayo Chiefs chairman said they also had full confidence in their technical team led by Thulani Sibanda as well as the players that won them the sole ticket to the elite league.

“Look, we clinched the ticket unbeaten and that on its own speaks volumes of our technical team’s pedigree. We have confidence in them and I don’t see us making any changes to that effect. We will soldier on with them,” said Rugwevera, a Mathematics teacher at Mpopoma High School.

It’s the second time in four years that Bulawayo Chiefs have reigned supreme in the Southern Region second tier league but in 2013 they sold their franchise to Bantu Rovers, who are in the Premiership this time around and facing almost certain demotion into Division One League next year.

However Bulawayo Chiefs director Lovemore Sibanda in August told this publication that they will not be selling their franchise in the event that they won the sole ticket to the Premiership.

“We’ve invested a lot to be where we are and have gone through rough patches in our quest to win promotion to the topflight. Should we win the Southern Region Division One League title, we will certainly go and compete in the Premiership. Those who think we will trade our topflight franchise are dreaming,” said Sibanda then.

Bulawayo Chiefs become the second lower rung team to qualify to the Premiership after Northern Region’s Herrentals College while former Premiership sides Mutare City Rovers and Tongogara are also on course for another dance with the big boys.

— @skhumoyo2000.