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revelations that Zimbabwe’s remaining Champions League representatives had not paid for airfares to the North African country.
DeMbare will face Algerian champions MC Alger in Al-giers in a first round, second leg tie this weekend.
Despite carrying what appears a healthy 4-1 lead, Dyna-mos were in danger of failing to fulfil the return leg after they found themselves stranded in Harare yesterday with no money to pay for the air tickets.
The Harare giants were only saved the ignominy of being walked over by the Algerians after it emerged that club vi-ce-chairman Kenny Mubaiwa had bailed the team out by providing the US$20 000 shortfall that was needed for the trip.
But by the time Mubaiwa managed to rescue his club, the Dynamos delegation, which had been scheduled to leave aboard an Ethiopian Airways flight, via Addis Ababa and Rome in Italy, had already missed the afternoon flight.
By last night, Dynamos were frantically trying to make fresh travel arrangements that would not impact negatively on coach Lloyd Mutasa’s training programme ahead of the crucial reverse fixture.
The team was scheduled to leave in the afternoon, but the players and technical officials were taken aback at the last minute as they had been kept in the dark while the management tried to sort out the boob that had clouded their jour-ney.
Dynamos chief executive Casper Muzenda – who was a pawn of the men handling the team’s travel arrangements – refused to comment.
“You are always writing negatively about us, so as CEO I have no comment to make. You can speculate and write what you think,” said Muzenda.
He was probably not amused that The Herald had, during the Archieford Gutu saga, questioned why he, as chief executive, was not taking an active role in resolving disputes re-lated to player contracts as the man in charge of the Dyna-mos office.
While Muzenda declined to talk about the trip, Mubaiwa chose to be modest and diplomatic about the role he had played.
He insisted they had only changed their travel plans after they had noted that their initial plan would have meant that their delegation would have travelled in two batches.
Surprisingly, Dynamos had summoned all their travelling party for a trip yesterday, which puts into question Mubai-wa’s claims that there was a plan for the team to travel in two batches.
Mubaiwa said the new arrangements could now see De-Mbare going to Algiers via Addis Ababa and Paris, in France and arriving in Algiers tomorrow.
“We had asked our travel agent to ensure that we travelled as one party, but he had indicated to us that he had secured 15 seats for us today (yesterday) and another 15 seats tomorrow (today) and we turned down that offer because we feel we should always travel as one unit.
“So it’s now confirmed we are now going tomorrow (to-day) as one delegation of 30,” Mubaiwa said.
But sources close to the case at Dynamos, indicated that Muzenda and his management had been banking on a local diamond company to help them with funding and had found themselves stuck when they could not pay for the air tickets.
It also emerged that although Mubaiwa had bailed the club out, there are some deep divisions within the Dynamos executive with the vice-chairman and committee member Mike George-Ignatious feeling often sidelined from key decisions related to the administration of the club.

“They had been hoping to get some money but when that did not happen, they found themselves in a crisis and Mubaiwa who had been kept in the dark had to run around and help.
“One of the problems that is drawing back Dynamos is that there is no real unity in the executive where the chairman (Farai Munetsi) and the treasurer (Harrison Mbewe) often pull in one direction while the vice-chairman and the committee member are usually in the dark about most developments,” the sources said.
Mubaiwa also said they received indications that the match, which was scheduled for Saturday night, would now be played the following day, which gives Dynamos a chance to train and have a feel of the match venue.
But Zifa chief executive Jonathan Mashingaidze said he could not confirm the switch in the match dates as he had not been in office for much of the day yesterday.
Mashingaidze was host to a Fifa delegation that was in the country for an assessment of the Zifa Goal Project.
The Zifa chief executive, however, said the soccer mother body would follow-up with the Dynamos camp to find out why they had not traveled.
“The Dynamos camp has not communicated with us on why they did not travel but we are following up to find out the reasons behind the delay,” Mashingaidze.
Despite their botched travel plans, Mutasa’s men appeared to be still in high spirits.
It is also Dynamos’ return to second trip to Algeria in as many years with the Harare giants having played Entente Setif in the same competition in Setif about 250km outside Algiers.
Although Mutasa might have included a host of Champions League rookies in his 18-man side, the Dynamos coach is also not short on experience with some battle-hardened veterans like goalkeeper Washington Arubi and defender Guthrie Zhokinyi having been part of the team that traveled to Setif, albeit on a 3-0 losing cause.
Vice-captain George Magariro, midfielder Milton Makopa, right back David Kutyauripo who are also in the side that will now leave today, were part of the crew that fell to Setif.
But unlike that mini-league encounter when Dynamos were fighting for points, Mutasa and his men know that they cannot afford to rest on their laurels as one team must advance to the second round after the battle in Algiers.
It is against this background that the 4-1 cushion they carry from the first leg at Rufaro two weeks ago will put Dynamos in good stead.
That big winning margin has also left the Harare giants fancying their chances of knocking out the 1976 African champions.
Dynamos, who seem to reserve some of their best football for the Champions League, have never surrendered such a healthy lead.
And, with assistant coach Ralph Kawondera warning this week that the war is far from over, the Glamour Boys are not likely to sit back and try to be defensive when they go into the second and final battle of this round.