Exactly what happens when someone joins the Dynamos Football Club executive?
Some cloud of confusion seems to engulf anyone who joins any team of executives that attempts to run the affairs of this football teams. It seems not to matter who it is, or where they coming from. Even some of the country’s once considered shrewd businessmen have turned into unbelievable blunderers the moment they get into the Dynamos offices. They seem to immediately forget the rules that govern the game, cast corporate governance to the dust bin, start thinking as if the team is bigger than the game itself and seem to consider other teams as mere pawns meant to be sacrificed in the process of getting what the ever demanding legion of their team’s fans call for.
What is amazing is that some of these individuals would have actually served the game at national level, and in most instances running successful business entities. Yet, when they come to DeMbare, all hell breaks loose. Could it be the pressure that is associated with the huge expectations the DeMbare following relentlessly carry season in, season out? Or could it be that these would have been incompetent individuals whose shortcomings would now be exposed by running arguably the country’s largest sporting institution by following? One can’t help but ask these questions seeing the comedy of errors the powers that be continue to make in running the popular club.
The latest one is the team’s exec’s attempt to “borrow” players from other Zimbabwean teams to take to their Champions League match TP Mazembe in the DRC tomorrow. It is reported Dynamos tried to get midfielder Steven Alumenda (CAPS United), defender Zephaniah Ngodzo (Higlanders) and goalkeeper Willard Manyatera (Black Mambas) to be part of their contigent to their CAF Champions League Mini league match against Champions Mazembe. Thsi cam after seven of the DeMbare players had been suspended after picking two yellow cards and red cards in the tournament. Alumanda, Ngodzo and Manyatera were registered with CAF by Dynamos late last yaer, although the former two had not signed for the team. Manyatera was then a Dynamos player but moved to the Police side after being considered excess baggage at the Glamour Boys.
Admitted, taking players from other teams in the domestic league is a practice alleged to be prevalent with some West African clubs who participate in continental championships, but the fact is that CAF rules are very clear that a player can only play for a team in the Champions League that he is registered with locally. Any soccer exec who is not aware of this rule should immediately resign. Yet, DeMbare execs wanted to take players featuring for other clubs for their continental assignment. Even at schools level, where the winning schools would pick players from other schools to form some sort of zonal or district select, this practice has been banned. Yet the Dynamos executives want to do this at continental level. Stop embarrassing us!
What makes this even funny is that according to reports, team coach Elvis ‘Chuchu” Chiweshe wasn’t even aware of his bosses’ manoeuvres. How on earth was he expected to plan his game when he wasn’t aware of the “new” players that were going to be part of his team? And then there is this idea of speaking to the media claiming that other clubs had agreed to release their players for their benefit. This is one very irritating practice synonymous with anyone that become part of the DeMbare executive which has continued unabated over the years. Who do they think they are? Always abusing the media attention on them to become self appointed spokesmen for other clubs.
Now, to consider that it was because of some ill conceived ideas of registering some of these players with CAF when Dynamos had neither contracts with them nor finalised negotiations with their clubs late last year makes the whole scenario laughable. Towards the end of last year, eager to build a team capable of bringing continental glory home, Dynamos executives were busy submitting details of any player in the local league they thought would appear on the soccer stars calendar, even without talking to the player’s paymasters. As fate would have it, some players didn’t eventually join DeMbare and the team found itself with registered players not on its payroll. That misdemeanour is now back to haunt the club at the time of its most wanting, when they need their best performance to rescue an ailing campaign in the cauldron of Kinshasa.
The issues of player registration and transfers seem to be robotics to almost anyone that has been in charge of the affairs of the Harare giants. The handling of the Cuthbert Malajila transfer from Army side Chapungu being a recent case in point. To an independent observer, it was very clear Chapungu were very patient with Dynamos and looked willing to sit down and talk to DeMbare. However, DeMbare blatantly took advantage of Chapungu’s benevolence, and the player’s desperation to play at the highest level and attract the eventual move to Tunisia. Chapungu on many occasions accused Dynamos of negotiating in bad faith, fielding the player when there had been an agreement that he should not play til negotiations are completed. It only made sense for what will be the point of negotiating if the buying club is already enjoying the services of the player being transferred, and indeed Dynamos were enjoying Malajila’s scoring prowess. At the end of the day Malajila made the move up north, and sadly for Dynamos, no cent came their way, despite them marketing the player at the highest club level in the continent.
In 2003, Dynamos virtually lost the League Championship because of their executive’s abhorrence in using striker Eddie Mufema against the orders of the Premier Soccer League. Mufema, then embroiled in an ownership dispute between DeMbare and Eric Rosen’s Motor Action, played in a game against Lancashire Steel and the team was docked three points, which at the end of the day was the difference between them and eventual winners Amazulu. Such wanton disregard of the rules boggles the mind and leaves wondering whether DeMbare’s leaders consider their team invincible and above the law. Or maybe they are just ignorant of the rules and regulations governing the game the claim to administer.
Currently, midfielder Farai Vimisayi only waits to play for DeMbare in the Champions League as he is barred by his club Hwange from playing in the local league, again as a result of a raging transfer dispute between his former and current paymasters. Hwange, Chapungu and other clubs have insistently complained about DeMbare’s big brother attitude when it comes to negotiating for player transfers. Given, many players would want to don the Blue and White strip of Dynamos, but that shouldn’t give the team from Mbare the green-light to hold other sides at ransom, and negotiate in bad faith. It is very clear that if they were to be charged, Dynamos will be found guilty of palyer tapping at many occasions. And this should make them tantamount to being banned from the transfer market. How does one explain a situation where a player considered AWOL by his club features for another in their continental matches? With a player seeing the lifetime opportunity to play consistently before multitudes and the guarantee of continental football, smaller clubs are always at a loss as their want away players drool over a move to Dynamos. This is what normally results in the awkward Vimisai situation where the player only waits to play a few continental matches while seating out the rest of the season. Its pathetic.
To make matters worse, DeMbare hardly give these players, no matter how desperate they will be to please Vietnam stand, long term contracts. Most of them come for one season loan spells, which at the end of the day benefits the player’s original club as they are the ones that get to pocket the money if the player eventually leaves for a foreign club. This was the case with Malajila and speed merchant Edward “Duduza” Sadomba who moved to Mozambique then Al Hilal of Sudan two seasons ago. It is also reported that DeMbare didn’t benefit from the transfer of four players Ephraim Mazarura, Mtshumayeli Moyo, Phillip Marufu and Carrington Gomba to DRC side FC Lupopo early this year. All these players were on loan to DeMbare and the side simply marketed them to cash rich clubs on the continent who paid the clubs that had longer term contracts with the players.
Having botched enough with player transfers and registration, DeMbare were ready to bite the bait from TP Mazembe, in the form of USD 400,000 donation! Surely, any A level Business Studies student who can define Corporate Governance could easily see through the potential conflict of interest associated with such a dubious offer. But alas, some in the Dynamos executive were already buying tickets to go and negotiate “the deal” with Governor Katumba of Katanga Province. Were they serious?
The level of unprofessionalism at Dynamos can be blamed for the constant lack of financial resources the club faces. It may indeed be too simplistic to say if each of the claimed 7 million supporters donates a dollar each, the club will become a multi-million dollar institution over night, but it is certainly true that the Glamour Boys can easily raise a million dollars from its supporters by either donations or membership fees without much struggle. Why such a scheme will never work currently is simply because the current and past leaderships don’t inspire confidence in the club’s following. There are many who could easily part with their lifetime savings to assist their beloved DeMbare, but with the current circus and that of past years, they would rather wait and see.
Given its following and achievements on the domestic and continental scene, Dynamos shouldn’t be struggling for players, training facilities and finances as it currently does. With a professional executive, visionaries who can see beyond lining up their pockets, Dynamos can be one of the biggest economic players in this country. What with the potential to sell replica shirts or even run Sports shops. Potential DeMbare executives must take a closer look at the developments in Zimbabwean cricket, and learn how franchises, which is basically what Dynamos is, should be run.
To hell with the thought that the team must cease to be a community team to be run professionally. DeMbare stands a better chance to succeed as a community team, than as privately held. Look at Barcelona, possibly the world’s most successful community team. They even refuse shirt sponsorship deals choosing instead to emblazon their jerseys with the UNICEF logo. They still afford to have the world’s most exciting player Lionel Messi in their team. DeMbare can do the same. Many corporates are headed by staunch Dynamos supporters, who would die to have their name even on the sleeves of the famous Blue and White strip. Many companies would pay thousands just to have their names and products associated with the famous team, but only if the controversies that often rear their ugly heads can be kept at a minimum, if not out of the picture totally. The team’s leadership needs to get real, realise that they are running the nation’s most supported team and stop the Mickey Mouse business of borrowing players from rivals, receiving donations from opponents or relying on bully tactics to force smaller teams to let their players play for Dynamos for free.
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