Zimpapers Logo

Eddie Chikamhi
Senior Sports Reporter
DYNAMOS are set to take their preparations for the new football season to another level today when they unveil their new kit sponsorship.

The Glamour Boys, who have enjoyed the strong backing of their principal sponsors Gold Leaf Tobacco in the last two years, have adopted a refreshing professional approach to business.

“Tomorrow (today) we hold a press conference to announce our new kit sponsors. A lot of people have asked us about replicas and very soon they will be available for the new kit.

“You will be able to buy original #Chazunguza merchandise,” they announced on their social media platform yesterday.

DeMbare resumed training two weeks ago following eight months of inactivity because of the coronavirus lockdown. The Harare giants have enjoyed a cool breeze despite the coronavirus lockdown. They have been doing serious work on the ground ahead of the proposed bubble tournament.

The club has not had an official kit sponsor since the collapse of their one-year deal with NetOne at the end of the 2018 season.

NetOne sponsored Dynamos along with their arch-rivals CAPS United and Highlanders and also provided them with full kits, sourced from local company Roar but made in China.

The arrival of Gold Leaf Tobacco, through their Remington Gold brand, has been the game-changer for the Glamour Boys.

The company in February 2019 entered into a fine-year deal with the Harare giants worth $5 million at the time.

The package, however, has been continually revised to accommodate the inflation changes and local exchange rate dynamics.

DeMbare say the cigarette manufacturers have been religiously honouring every detail of their promise to the Glamour Boys despite the lockdown of football activities in the country.

The 2020 Premier Soccer League season failed to kickoff, as scheduled in March, following the lockdown measures imposed by Government to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

The club ordered kits and merchandise from an overseas supplier earlier this year but they faced challenges with the shipment of the consignment because of the global travel restrictions.

Dynamos chairman, Isaiah Mupfurutsa, said the stability prevailing at the club is largely because of their principal sponsors, Gold Leaf Tobacco.

“We really appreciate what our sponsors are doing for us,” Mupfurutsa told The Herald recently.

“Gold Leaf Tobacco, through their brand, Remington Gold, have been unwavering during this storm. We salute them.

“The level of sanity, which is at Dynamos right now, cannot be attributed to our competence and capacity as Dynamos Football Club alone.

“Rather, it has more to do with the support we are getting from our sponsors because there can be no club which can be stable when the financial situation is dire.

“The fact that we are able to, at least, put food on the table for the players, and members of the staff, has helped a lot in terms of our club’s stability.”

Before the Covid-19 outbreak, Dynamos had begun exploring ways to enhance brand visibility, through merchandise sales, particularly the club’s replica jerseys and branded shirts.

Dynamos and their sponsors, Remington Gold, launched the four-year sales relationship agreement in February and the deal is now fully operational.

While DeMbare’s official home-and-away shirts will be on sale after the unveiling today, merchandise like royal blue supporters’ shirts, are already on sale at US$10.

The first batch of official club merchandise, comprising royal blue supporters’ shirts that has been on the market, was hit by poor uptake.

Mupfurutsa said the supporters, who make up the market, have been struggling under the effects of the coronavirus lockdown.

But some have raised issues with the quality and the prices.