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Eddie Chikamhi-Senior Sports Reporter

THE Dynamos leadership have been forced to postpone their scheduled tour of Europe to early next year because of the extended FIFA World Cup break.

The tour, which was facilitated by the club’s principal sponsor Sakunda Holdings, is set to give the Harare giants a rare opportunity to perceive how top professional football clubs are run in Europe.

The DeMbare leadership will tour England, Spain and Germany. The overall goal is to return home equipped with the modern tools of administration, refine and reboot their own systems back home.

New Dynamos chairman, Moses Maunganidze, said his executive has been forced to postpone their tour, which was initially pencilled to take place before the end of the year, to next January.

“The trip is still on but because of the FIFA World Cup break we had to push the plans forward,” said Maunganidze.

“As you can see most, if not all, of the European leagues are currently on halt and will only resume after the World Cup. Some will be back to full scale operations in January.

“So we are now looking forward to mid-January; that’s when we are going to travel. At the moment we are currently seized with the logistics and paperwork,” said Maunganidze.

Dynamos’ rivals Highlanders, who are also beneficiaries of a similar arrangement with the energy giants, have since sent their representatives on a 10-day mission in Europe.

Bosso board chairman Luke Mnkandla, executive committee chairman Johnfat Sibanda, Morgan Dube (secretary) and treasurer Busani Mthombeni toured Spain, Belgium, France and England, courtesy of Sakunda Holdings mid-October, where they sought possible relations with European clubs while also learning modern-day football trends.

Dynamos chose England, Spain and Germany. Maunganidze said the initiative was key for the Harare giants. DeMbare have always been found wanting when it comes to administration.

“We are very grateful to our sponsors for this opportunity to learn. We look forward to learning more from some of the top clubs in Germany, Spain and England.

“The choice of those countries was based purely on the competitiveness of their leagues. These are some of the top leagues in the world.

“We have got a lot to learn from their style of play and the structural arrangement of their administration. So we have to tour those three countries so that we have a balanced approach in terms of the benchmarking,” said Maunganidze.

Sakunda Holdings have forged life-changing relations with Dynamos and Highlanders through their lucrative sponsorship deal.

The energy company, who have been active in corporate social responsibility initiatives during the Second Republic, entered into a combined US$5,3 million three-year sponsorship deal with Highlanders and Dynamos in September 2021. The amount is paid in local currency, over three years.

Each club gets US$450 000 for salaries and allowances, US$60 000 reserved for signing-on fees, per each season, for three years.

Sakunda are also committed to seeing improved management at the country’s two biggest football institutions and have funded a strategic business retreat that was attended by the management and legends from both clubs in Victoria Falls.

Meanwhile, Dynamos are set to lay the markers for their 60th anniversary when they unveil the Dembare@60 Anniversary Celebrations Committee this week.

DeMbare, who were formed by a group of disgruntled black players during the colonial era in 1963, are set to turn 60 years next year. They have established themselves as the most successful club in Zimbabwe with a record 21 league titles in their cabinet, and several other local trophies.

“This is quite a milestone for the club. Dynamos has managed to stay on top for all these years, despite encountering ups and downs along the way. So this is generally a time to look back at the road the club has travelled since 1963.

“We will look back at the successes, failures, the challenges faced along the way, the potential and the opportunities that can be developed with the aim of coming up with ways of how best to move forward as a growing entity. Hopefully we will emerge from the anniversary year stronger than ever,” said Maunganidze.

Dynamos are also looking to challenge for the title next season. The club will celebrate the milestone on the back of a eight year title drought.