‘No Champs League’ NOTHING MUCH TO SMILE ABOUT . . . Dynamos chairman Kenny Mubaiwa (second from left) and his players may have to watch the 2015 Champions League proceedings from a distance
NOTHING MUCH TO SMILE ABOUT . . . Dynamos chairman Kenny Mubaiwa (second from left) and his players may have to watch the 2015 Champions League proceedings from a distance

NOTHING MUCH TO SMILE ABOUT . . . Dynamos chairman Kenny Mubaiwa (second from left) and his players may have to watch the 2015 Champions League proceedings from a distance

Petros Kausiyo Deputy Sports Editor—
DYNAMOS’ participation in the 2015 Champions League has been thrown into serious doubt amid revelations yesterday that the Zimbabwe soccer kings do not have the funds to undertake the African Safari. The Harare giants cantered to their fourth successive Castle Lager Premiership title under the guidance of coach Callisto Pasuwa on a dramatic final day of the 2014 programme on Sunday.

But amid all the frenzy, drama and the celebrations that have greeted their triumph, Dynamos, unlike in the past years, were yesterday not ready to immediately commit themselves to taking part in the Champions League.

Club chairman Kenny Mubaiwa revealed that the fate of their participation in the continental football tournament was not in their hands.

Dynamos need to confirm their participation with the Confederation of African Football by November 30, with the continental body allowing clubs up to December 15 to register their squad lists.

But DeMbare are not yet looking at all that with Mubaiwa indicating that they face a crucial week in which they will be meeting with their sponsors BancABC “tomorrow or Wednesday’’ to try and convince the financial institution to bankroll their Champions League campaign.

BancABC and Dynamos have a partnership in which the bank sponsors the Harare giants on the domestic front including paying the players’ monthly salaries.

The financial institution has a similar arrangement with Highlanders and Chapungu and Dynamos would have to negotiate for a different package for their Champions League campaign.

Last year, Dynamos tried unsuccessfully to secure a special package for the Champions League from BancABC, but were allowed to look for additional partners to bankroll their African Safari.

There was no sponsor for that campaign and DeMbare eventually had to go it alone.

Mubaiwa, however, said Dynamos could not afford to use their meagre coffers this time around and risk pulling out of the competition because of lack of funds.

It is against this background that their next meeting with BancABC will be key to determining their participation.

“We are going to meet with our sponsors tomorrow or Wednesday and discuss the caf participation.

“It is our wish as the biggest club in the country to fly the country’s flag high and we would have loved to try and improve on our performance in the Champions League.

“If our sponsors say they cannot afford it, we would have to try and run around quickly to see who can chip in and assist us.

“Our financial position is bad and we do not have the resources to finance our participation in the Champions League and if we don’t get sponsors sadly we will not be able to represent Zimbabwe,’’ Mubaiwa said.

Mubaiwa also said Dynamos are still keen to continue to improve their ranking in Africa which he reckoned augured well for the rest of the domestic Premiership.

“Obviously, when you are ranked in the top 10 in Africa it will be good for our country because the rest of Africa will notice that we have a very strong league but everything that we wish for hinges on money and money is something that we don’t have at the moment’’.

The Dynamos boss said although they were elated to win their fourth straight championship, they were still “hungry for more success’’ and have now taken aim at the Mbada Diamonds Cup.

“We have won the Mbada Cup twice before and we missed it last year when we lost so we are saying although we have the league we are not finished yet and we must make sure we have brought the Mbada (Diamonds) Cup back to our trophy cabinet.

“In fact, football is business and in business you are there to make profit so as Dynamos, any tournament that comes along we would want to win it and boost our financial position.

“We are actually disappointed too that we could not win the OneWallet Cup and the Chibuku Cup because in terms of football business that was revenue lost.

“The economy has not been performing very well and we have to capitalise on every opportunity that comes to make an extra dollar so we should also win the Gushungo Cup against Highlanders’’.

Mubaiwa, in saluting his team for winning the championship that had virtually slipped from their grasp after losing 2-1 to ZPC Kariba in the penultimate round of games, attributed their success story to discipline in Pasuwa’s dressing room.

“There has been discipline among our players and as management we kept reminding them that football is big business and their livelihoods depend on football and as such they had to act professionally all the time,’’ Mubaiwa said.

Mubaiwa, however, declined to discuss much about Pasuwa’s revelation that he would walk away from Dynamos at the end of his contract at the end of next month, insisting that the 44-year-old coach had not officially communicated his position to the management.

“Instead, Mubaiwa felt Pasuwa ‘breached protocol by rushing to make public his announcement without first advising his employers’’’.

“I think the coach was wrong to go public before coming to us.

“Why not come to the chairman and discuss it.

“I think the approach is not the right one because he should have afforded us a chance to meet with him and then say I think I have done my part for the club and it is time to leave then we see what can be done and after that we make an announcement.

“If we were to fire him, I don’t think we were also going to tell the public that we have fired the coach without first advising him.

“Yes, we have read about what was attributed to him but we will wait to meet with him first and hear if he has grievances before I can comment much on that,’’ Mubaiwa said.

There are indications though that there has been a communication breakdown between the DeMbare management and their coach that appears to have been fuelled by allegations that the club chiefs’ opted to take a wait-and-see attitude on whether Pasuwa would win another championship or not before deciding whether he was fit to remain as head coach.

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