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Tadious Manyepo-Sports Reporter

CAPS United have seen the light and decided to immediately drop the blue tracksuits donated to them by a gas company last week.

The Green Machine are slowly recovering from an acute financial distress that has seen unending strikes at the team this Castle Lager Premiership football term.

The club’s chiefs have been running around to find means of stabilising the ship and last week introduced a fan-funding initiative, taking a leaf from successful teams like Al Ahly of Egypt.

This prompted the gas company to chip in with 50 pairs of tracksuits but with the wrong colour which Makepekepe accepted and subsequently unveiled in a huge public relations boob.

The Harare giants’ principal colours are green and white.

While it is trendy to spot some colours totally divorced to the principal identity in modern day football, the dominant blue on the outfits drew the ire of the club’s supporters.

Club president Farai Jere was inundated with calls and messages from predominantly Makepekepe fans who wanted to understand the motive behind the blue colour.

Blue is the principal colour for CAPS United’s biggest rivals Dynamos and those who believe in the former’s corner were growing increasingly restless as their team became the subject of ridicule by social media users.

And Makepekepe’s management have taken a humble step to drop the use of those tracksuits.

CAPS United chief executive, Charlie Jones, said the team had written to the gas company to reconsider the donation.

“I can confirm that we have stopped using the donated (blue) tracksuits. We have discovered that the colour coding is not in tandem with what we stand for as CAPS United Football Club,” said Jones.

“CAPS United colours are green and white and we maintain that. We would like to thank those who donated the tracksuits and everything is being done in utmost good faith.

“We have since written to them informing them of the decision that we have taken as a club.

“We have asked them to reconsider the colours and if they can come along with the green and white colours, we will be most thankful.

“Otherwise we are in good books with them and we continue to cherish the relationship that we have.

“For us, fans are everything. We know we are not the owners of Makepekepe. CAPS United is a people’s team and we are ever thankful to those who continue to give us their hand.”

The tracksuits are said to be worth something in the region of US$2 000.

Meanwhile, things seem to be getting better by the day at the Green Machine who have now gathered more players who they have already registered.

The Lloyd Chitembwe-coached side have been struggling to have a full complement of players on match days where mostly just four players have been sitting on the bench.

But the club, for the first time this year, managed to raise a team of 18 players and coach Chitembwe used all five allotted substitutions in his team’s 2-1 win over Whawha last weekend.

“I am happy to say that we now have a full squad of more than 23 players. It has been difficult for us to raise those numbers but things are slowly getting back to where we want them to be.

“I am happy to say that we have added some experienced and upcoming talent into our squad,” Jones said.

Jones also said injured midfielder Rodwell Chinyengetere could start light training next week.

The 2017 and 2017 Soccer Star of the Year award winner has been on the sidelines over the past five weeks after suffering an injury.

“Yes, Chinyengetere might start some light training next week.

“He has been out and we have obviously been missing him and we look forward to his full recovery. But I should say the medical team is monitoring him and they have been giving us some positive news.”