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Tadious Manyepo-Sports Reporter

DYNAMOS coach Tonderai Ndiraya, and his Highlanders counterpart Mandla “Lulu” Mpofu have challenged their men to challenge for honours in the wake of the huge financial injection into their coffers from Sakunda Holdings.

The country’s bigges, and most successful football clubs have for years been living in the shadows of new challengers like FC Platinum and Ngezi Platinum who have solid financial bases.

The Zvishavane miners have won the last three league championships.

Only Dynamos and Highlanders had won three straight championships on the trot, before FC Platinum arrived on the scene and started dominating the domestic football landscape.

So dire was the situation at Bosso that some of their players, including captain Ariel Sibanda and his deputy, Nqobizitha Masuku, had been threatening to quit the club over unpaid salaries.

However, this has now changed, in the wake of the Sakunda Holdings deal, in which the company will pour US$5,3 million into the two clubs’ coffers over three years.

Even the welfare of the coaches and players is set to change.

Yesterday, the two coaches each took delivery of a brand new Ford Everest vehicle provided by Sakunda Holdings chief executive Kuda Tagwirei as part of the sponsorship deal.

The two club captains, Sibanda and Patson Jaure, also received cars at a ceremony held in Harare less than 24 hours after Tagwirei made the pledge to provide the vehicles at a function in the capital on Tuesday night.

The vehicles will be serviced and fuelled at Sakunda Holdings.

“Look, we cannot ask for anything better than this deal. I am speechless. I am sure this is the biggest deal that any club has ever landed in this country,” said Ndiraya.

 “It has come just at the right time, when we are preparing for the resumption of the Chibuku Super Cup, and also the league.

“The motivation is enough. 

“We have capable players and, with this kind of motivation, we know for sure that we will be able to be very competitive.

“There are no excuses when the game resumes, the players have to put bodies on the line, football is business and the sponsors have just shown that and we, therefore, can’t afford to lose focus in the business.

“We have to work extra hard, put in maximum effort, put in the required energy and try to be the giants we are known to be.

“This is the time to revive the glamour which is associated with us. I would personally want to say thank you to Mr Kuda Tagwirei. 

“I never thought one day something like this will ever happen in my life but, here I am, and I can only say thank you to Mr Tagwirei for the gesture.”

Mpofu, whose team last won the league title in 2006, said the sponsorship package could be the tonic his team needed to reclaim their glory.

“This sponsorship will inspire the team, we will have nothing to worry about and we will be concentrating on our core business, that of playing football,” said Mpofu.

“As Highlanders, we have a strong team which we know can fight for honours this coming season and I am challenging the players to prove that they can play for this great team.

“I would like to thank Mr Tagwirei, I want to be honest with you. I never thought one day I would drive this model of a car. 

“When we came to Harare, as the Highlanders delegation, we just thought we would witness the unveiling of the sponsorship package and then return home. 

“But, I was wrong, I am still surprised that I am actually going to travel back to Bulawayo driving this car. It’s awesome and an incredible gesture.’’

Jaure said playing football, on the domestic scene, was beginning to make sense.

“This is a touching gesture, to say the truth, we never thought one day, there will come a man who would have a heart to honour a Dynamos captain, and let him drive such wheels,” he said.

All the US$320 000 cars belong to the clubs, but should be used by the coaches and the captains.

Both Dynamos and Highlanders officials took their plight to Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation Deputy Minister, Tino Machakaire, earlier this year, crying out for a helping hand.

Machakaire, who is close to Tagwirei, then negotiated the deal which came into fruition on Tuesday.