Highlanders FC Chairman’s Report – AGM 2012 (unedited)

Preamble

The 2011 financial year was not only a year to mark our 85 years of existence but marked the beginning of the revival of the club, against years where the club was on a free fall. Members might argue that one of our worst finishes in the league signaled the possible demise of the club, but what should be noted is that we have come out stronger financially and on our human resources front, which fundamentally are the basic cornerstones of a successful football club.

We would like to take this opportunity to remember those that passed on during the period under review and also honour those that persevered with the club in its greatest moments of need.

Team Performance

Premier League - 

The club finished 7th on the log in the premiership, a position which we last attained in 2008, which by all standards does not befit the club of our status. Many factors contributed to this, but amongst others the major contributories being as follows: 

a) Loss of key players at the end of the 2010 season.

b) Below par performance in the second half of the season

c) Enforcement of discipline in the team lacking.

Cup Competitions

Independence Trophy - The club won the independence trophy after accounting for its perennial rivals Dynamos FC in the finals. This is the first silverware to be won by the club since the 2006 season.

Banc Abc Super 8 - The club reached finals of this knockout tournament and lost to Motor Action at Barbourfields stadium to a solitary goal. Indeed the loss was heartbreaking and had huge financial implications on the club.

Mbada Diamonds Cup - After having been drawn against Zimbabwe Saints hopes were high that we were going to proceed to the later stages of this lucrative competition. Those hopes were quickly extinguished at the Colliery Stadium in the first round.

Invitational Tournaments  The club was invited to participate in a winner take all tournaments in Johannesburg South Africa against Bloemfontein Celtics, which we lost on penalty shootouts.

Club Administration 

The club continues to be the envy of all in Zimbabwe as a shining beacon of good administration; this on its own has seen a rise in interest from the corporate sector to partner our club. It is no accident that we have managed to clinch sponsorship deals with various corporate bodies, which has been the result of the high levels of professionalism that we have continued to show.

The Board and Executive working committees have improved the way we do things and have certainly ensured that high levels of integrity are observed. These committees now guarantee continuity to club programs as executives come and go. Some procedural manuals are now in place while others are being finalized.

This not only improves the effectiveness of the administrative systems but makes the work of administrators easy. Our target this year is to work towards certification in ISO 9000- 2008 quality management system.

Legal Matters

The following matters were dealt with and concluded:

a) vs Mohamed Fathi – Payment was made in full courtesy of a donation from the Hon Dr O Mpofu.

b) vs Madinda Ndlovu – the matter was decided in the club’s favour, however the club feels that it has a moral obligation to pay. Preliminary approaches have been made to have the matter settled between the parties.

c) vs Philani Mabhena – the case is still pending in the court of arbitration.

d) Vs Caps United – the case is still to be heard before an arbitrator.

Club Code of Conduct 

With the growth of the club and the change in football from being a mere pass time, it has become necessary that we come up with a comprehensive code of conduct which will ensure that members are bound by and understand the implications of their actions.

Behaviour of Fans

The club is concerned with the upsurge in unruly behavior by its fans and would like to appeal to the fans to behave in a sporting manner as the club has not only lost a lot of its hard-earned revenue to fines but has had to fork out money to repair its vehicles which were damaged by missiles at Barbourfields Stadium.

Football is a family sport and any violence at our matches drives away fans and sponsors. There is no sponsor that would want to associate their brand with violence.

The club would like to see the number of fans increasing by a further 50% in the coming season which will in turn improve its financial health.

Player Contracts

We are pleased to advise that the club has 35 registered players in its books with 24 of them being aged between 17 and 22 years, with contracts ranging between 3 and 5 years. It has not been easy to achieve this feat as we had some amongst us who would deflect good players to other clubs.

The tracking of our promising youth players in their respective age groups has been the major focus of your executive. The club has managed to resolve the perennial problem of yesteryear of panic signings to complete the required quota to meet registration deadlines.

We are currently not under any pressure to sign any players but will only do so at the convenience and affordability of the club.

Youth Development

The club changed its registration status from Highlanders Juniors to Highlanders Academy in line with its objectives of establishing a fully fledged academy. We are pleased to advise that our relationship with First Mobile Sports Academy is beginning to bear fruit as we have already received playing kit and tracksuits for two of our age groups as part of the fulfillment of the agreement.

During the year we had been offered four slots for our academy players to go to Denmark and Sweden which we failed to utilize due logistical challenges and unfounded suspicions that were there at inception.

Our technical teams are currently in the process of identifying players that will go and represent the club at this year’s Gorthia and Dana Cup Youth tournaments to be held in Sweden and Denmark respectively in June and July.

In line with our efforts of establishing a fully fledged academy we have since approached Milton High School to be our partners where we will be sending our players that the club will be taking care of. The school has offered us two training grounds, to which the first team is already having access.

Plans are at an advanced stage to establish school of excellence in various secondary schools in surrounding regions.

Junior League - Our youth teams came first in their respective age groups save for the U16 side, which came second.

Ajax Hotspurs Festival - Our under 14 side won the Ajax Hotspurs Invitational tournament whilst the U16 and U18 lost in the finals.

Kombami Africa Cup - Our U19 team participated in the above tournament in Plumtree and was knocked out in the semi-finals. Whilst our teams have been winning, it is certainly not the key objective of our academy, ours is to identify and develop talent as well as market it.

It is in this regard that our target in the next three years will be to market at least three (3) players to Europe which we hope will have a positive effect on the club’s finances as well as its profile as a rich ground for talent.

We intend to introduce the U12 age group to our Academy. This will be done through the introduction of a house league, which will be spearheaded by our former players.

Trip to Canada

As chairman of the club, I had been invited to attend a youth tournament in Canada in the month of December. The trip did not materialize as I was denied a visa on flimsy reasons.

It was a pity that we missed this opportunity of interacting with the top brains in Youth Development and creating contacts that were going to be forever helpful to club.

The trip did create an outcry from some sections of our membership, but to mention “our former players” who even had the audacity to write and complain to our sponsor why he was funding the trip. There was joy and celebration when news eventually came out that I was not going to make with exclamations "Thank God it failed".

It is a tragedy when we celebrate our own failure, it shows our deficiencies to the whole world that we are not united and we do not share the same vision. The organizers were very disappointed that I could not make it as they had expected me to make an address talking about Zimbabwean football and in particular Highlanders FC.

This was indeed a great opportunity that we will rue that we missed in a long period to come.

Technical Teams

The appointment of technical teams has been a major topic during the period under review. I would like to advise our members that the recruitment systems at the club ensure that the most suitable candidates for the job are employed. Technical team members are as follows:

Senior Team

Head Coach – Kelvin Kaindu; Assistant Coach - Bekithemba Ndlovu; Goal keepers Trainer - Tembo Chuma, Welfare Manager - Amin Soma Phiri; Team Doctor - Dr Xolani Ndlovu and Team Physiotherapist - Loyal Nyika.

Youth Academy  - Under 14 Coach - Dan Ngwenya; Under 16 Coach - Gift Lunga; Under 18 Coach - Siphatho Ncube; Division 2 Coach - Mark Mathe and Welfare Manager - Smart Moyo.

The position of Director of Coaching will be filled once a suitable candidate has been identified. Funds permitting the club will also engage a full-time scout.

Club Facilities

Main Club - The performance of the clubhouse is still way below expectations, with the catering section disappointing resulting in patrons shunning the facility. Catering is key to improved profitability therefore renewed efforts will be made to secure or provide better catering facilities.

Hlabangana Lounge - The lounge has been lying idle since 2008 and it had dilapidated to a sorry sight. Renovations have been undertaken courtesy of a donation from the Board Chairman. The lounge will serve as an executive lounge for members and will play host to important visitors of the club. Preparations for its opening are at an advanced stage and we have targeted its opening at the end of February.

Training Grounds - The training grounds remain in a deplorable state and efforts are being made to resuscitate them as the borehole has already been repaired and work is in progress to get the irrigation systems working. The youth teams are currently using the training grounds and efforts would be made to have one ground in a usable state by July.

Sponsorship

Official Club Sponsors are Banc Abc, Savannah Tobacco and Bakers Inn. The Club managed to secure sponsorship with Banc Abc in June 2011, which sponsorship will run up to the end of December 2013.

The Banc Abc sponsorship covers the following:

a) Payment of player and technical team salaries.

b) Supply of training and playing kit.

c) Hosting of the end of year stars awards.

The Buscod sponsorship ended on 31 December 2011 and negotiations are still underway for its extension. The Bakers Inn deal runs up to the end of March 2012. Savannah Tobacco has come back after a two-year absence, and the club is happy that the value of its brand has once again been recognized.

The club has already received some funding towards the payment of sign on fees; however, the full package will be released at the official launch, which will be held at a date to be advised.

Merchandising

This revenue stream performed below expectation as the company that we had contracted failed to deliver as promised. This area still remains a priority area as it has a lot of potential and would provide some measure of financial security.

Member Associations

The club encourages the formation of member groups as a way of mobilizing membership and increasing cohesiveness at a local level. Few associations are currently in existence, and your executive would like to assure members that now that the dust has begun to settle this area will receive priority.

We have associations that have led by example and deserve to be emulated as they have come in handy to the club in times of need.

Media Relations

Our relations with the media have not been acrimonious, we have over the period been engaging with the press on various issues that needed to be communicated to our members. However we note with concern the shift of late where reports about the club have been made without any verification with the club.

Some of the reports have been so misleading that they have created an impression that we are not of sound mind. Players have been signed and offloaded by the press on our behalf without us knowing throwing our credibility out of the window.

We strongly believe that our members deserve nothing but the truth regardless of whatever event is on our calendar. In line with that your club has taken a decision to revive the monthly newsletter which will provide our members and other interested parties the correct status of the club.

Prospects for 2012

The club realizes the need to improve on the team performance so as to meet the expectations of our various stakeholders who include among others , our sponsors ,our members, our fans as well as the whole football fraternity, because with the team under-performing it does not make football exciting.

We realize our role as the pacesetters in Zimbabwean football and we have thus ensured that everybody who is involved in delivering our product to our customers is managed through a performance driven management system. In this light our technical teams have been given performance related contracts to ensure that the club gets value for the money that it spends in the employment of these members.

Our major goal this season is to win the championship as well as to land one major cup tournament. 

Finishing in the top four will not be good enough. We know that our ambition might seem too high given the investments that other clubs have made, but we believe that money is not everything but just a means to an end, and hence ours will be to get the commitment of everybody in the Highlanders family to the club cause.

The commitment that we seek is not just from the members, but from the fans and from our sponsors, as everybody has a role to play. The slogan that says, “In Highlanders we are one”, must be rekindled. Gone are days when we will selfishly undo each other at the expense of the club, it is time that we reflect on who we are and what we believe and stand for.

No one has a right to ownership on the spirit “sikaMthwakazi”; we all share the same vision, with no one being better than the other is. As the leadership of the club, we stand guided by your expectations and those are also our expectations, it therefore means we must flow in the same tide and help each other along the way.

We will increase our marketing efforts in areas of merchandising and fan development. It is our target that we must have member representations in all major centres of Zimbabwe as we have since realized that this area can provide us with the fastest growth rates in revenue income as highlighted by our financial report.

The commitment that you have from members can never be exceeded by any as they are the owners of the club. With member charters as they are called it will be easy to sell and distribute our merchandise.

Acknowledgements

The club would like to thank the following members, individuals and institutions that helped fund its activities during the year. Dr O Mpofu, Bellevue Spar, First Mobile Sports Academy, Astra Supplies, Carol Sports, Michael Malani C C Sales, Inunu Tours, McNamara Lodge, Harare Supporters Association, Heart and Soul, Christel Dube, Zenzo Madonko, Ndoes Transport and G G Hardware.

We recognize that we might not be able to list everyone but would like to acknowledge everybody who made contributions towards the club and say “Lingadinwa Lakusasa”

Conclusion

The status of the club for the year reflects a very positive movement towards the right direction, where we our financial pulse can now be heard and our human resources have been strengthened. It certainly does not resemble an “Intensive Care Unit” as some have been putting it. It provides hope for better things to come and certainly sets the foundation for future success. With your support we will certainly go places.

T Ndlela

Chairman

Highlanders - This is painful.

Themba Ndlela works for a company in the Midlands and has worked at Edgars while he was Treasurer of the Club at the time I was Technical Advisor. Whatever happened to the man, I just do not know. He did a good job working in an Executive that was led by the late Colonel James Mangwana Tshuma (MHSRIP). This gives one the impression that he is dull, education-proof if he cannot learn from the best , but he is a degreed man who went to University with the Vice-President Professor Welshmen Ncube. Therefore, on that note, I would beg to differ. This guy has an idea of how to do his job. He may be clowning or what, I do not know. 

For starters, his challenger in his early forties or so, is Mandla Moyo. Frankly, he could be a colleague of mine that I am trying to remember well. I know he owns Sparrows Football Club that once played in the Division One league.He was well off and had a fleet of Kombis, a spares shop and owned a few buildings in town. This tells you of a business man who knew his football and has commitments elsewhere, like Ndlela.

Highlanders Football Club is a big team. They have a destination and the arrival time is here. Bosso cannot afford to live in the shadow of Caps United, Dynamos and FC Platinum. People who have loved and worked for the team cannot sit and watch at the rot. The team has to come back. Have we forgotten the Black and White road shows of old? With loud music and the get downs?

Accepting to be average and mediocrity has seen trophies and championships slip through the fingers. Since when has the Cathedral of Football known as BF become a slaughter-house of Amahlolanyama? Tshilamoya has become an ordinary name. This is thew year to take the team back, to set the standards. Mantengwane is a team that always set the standards. We set the pace and others follow. 

The Annual General Meeting of the team takes place on the 29th of January 2012. A week later, the fans will flock to elect the top brass of the team. There is no secret of the anger and disgruntlement of the nation that is in and out of the nation.There will be a lot demanded from Themba Ndlela and company. They were mandated with carrying the aspirations and pride of the legion of followers, supporters and fans from all over the world.

What have they have to show for our trust and faith? One cannot hide the feeling of betrayal and abuse from the elected leaders. It is not easy to wait painfully for that long to cast a vote. It cost money to make a date and travel to The Clubhouse. There will be lunch and drinks to buy. There is a risk of the traffic accidents and being in the crossfire when things get nasty.  All the bad things that can happen in between cannot equal the realisation that people trusted with your emotions are happy trampling on the hearts of many with a clear conscience. We can help but feel used.

The men who do this to us are not just unfair, but very abusive and deserve to be absent in our midst. The team cannot be taken for a ride. The team is supreme and people must respect the Club, the black and white colours, the stadium and the culture of winning. It is Bosso's right to rule and rule it shall, and it is not a privilege. 

 There is no-one above the team or the club and no one shall be excused for abusing the constitution and their office to follow their personal agendas at the expense of the club. Who do they think they are? What are they? Highlanders is not just a name, a team, a club or a personal property. It is a way of life. It is a lifestyle.

There are times when even the larger populace entertain abusing the team by neglecting to renew membership and subscription. That is criminal and must stop now. Cheap talk does not have room at the club. The club is an action packed lifestyle that accepts nothing but  the best of all participates and it cannot be a vehicle of failure. It must never be. You cannot expect the best from the team if you are not applying the best yourself, otherwise you become worse that the failing executive. You become birds of a feather with them.

People painted their dogs, houses, bicycles and regalia black and white. Many have lost their lives for the team and may their souls rest in eternal peace. There are people who have lost families and relationships. There are people who have no identity for the sake of the team. Some people are called Highlander, Bosso or Mantengwane and then you find the lack of seriousness going on in the club.

Themba Ndlela who should be knowing this more than anyone else. How many years did he serve the club? How much effort and energy did they waste for Bosso and for what? What have they have to show for it? What? No this shall not be allowed to go on. It can't. Never. 

Look, I honestly do not think at this time Ndlela carries the fire that saw us beat everyone in our sight and collected silverware after silverware. I am not asking for Mangwana Tshuma to rise up from the grave, or Zenzo Moyo and Thulani Ncube to don the black and white shirts and play. They did their part and they are done. I am demanding the respect of the team back. Bring the respectability and let us bring fear to our foes. Little boys now do not respect the team. They crawl left and right to touch our genitals willy nilly. That must end and the bug must stop with Ndlela in his new term. Let us vote him back to fix his mess and carry these demands unconditionally.

The issues coming forth is always that  of finance. That is his problem and not the teams'. That is not our baby. We demand a winning team that is well-financed. If he cannot sourced funds, what is he doing contesting? Ndlela must make a plan and soon. He must sell air, stones, soil or manure, whatever,finish and klaar. He must know the expectation of the people and that all the weight is on his shoulders. The ineptitude of his last term is not acceptable. Not at all.

The time to talk is gone. Now he must walk the talk. We are tired of excuse after excuse.We are rebuilding' is a banned phrase this year. I am not sure if anyone will be prepared for a telling dominance in obvious cases. The team should be fighting for honours and not 3rd, 4th and 5th. No Cups in the cabinet. Ndlela and company must not waste our time and play with our feelings.

As the date comes close, please, let us know what is happening on a regular basis. We cannot have stale news of each and every situation and having the executive shelving petty issues and hoping they will die natural deaths. The Club has governing statutes that run it, but most of the secrecy is crazily unnecessary. In trying to pry and dig for information, people think e-Diski.com is a Bosso property, or its mouth piece. They think I am based in the office. They assume I get paid.   

The comparison with other teams that I am tired comparing to or even bored typing their names, they have well-manned websites. The team should be running a up to date official website, blog and official Facebook page. Have you realised how many Facebook pages fans and supporters have made in trying to get motivated, to get information and pushing the passion? There is Bosso this, Highlanders that and Tshila so and Mantengwane here. It is like the club is secret service and we are tired of that kind of ineptitude.

We must have breaking news on matters of the club and we cannot be negotiating deals with the executive over our team begging for public information. As members, is it that we must pay membership and go to the stadium to cough up and the shut up? It does not work like that. Come forth and be open. I did not even want to mention how much lack of consultation is going on, but we know. The honeymoon is over and by trusting you with Bosso, it is not a license to abuse our faith, our trust and happiness. We are making this year of 2012, a time of our joy. 

I will get into your affairs a bit. Doing development business deals with First Mobile Sports Academy is a visionary move. I wish to thank Isaac Mbedzi for that and everyone really should do so. The unfortunate part is the lack of iron fist that is leading to politics and personal issues coming into the works. 

As for the composition of the technical team, I believe it could have been better, but maybe there is an excuse why you chose it that way. Kelvin Kaindu was a fire-brand striker and went to a coaching school that I respect and I may attend myself this year. How much muscle he will have is something we will never know. I would want to believe the choice was based on ability than a 'sale tag' and that he will be able to spend on the material he wants. I am not sure if the vision is that the assistants will take over from him when he is done. 


How many times have we seen assistants just being bench warmers and being discarded after they have been 'schooled' by head coaches? Kaindu is likely to read this. Brother, play football. Win games so you can fill the stadium. You are not new to that culture. You know the euphoria. People are tired of mediocrity and I know you have a very strong football background. You came at a point where you have a choice of playing good football, better football or the best football. Not winning is prohibited. I have no doubt you know expectation. When you fail to get any support, tell us. Waiting to speak after you are gone does not help you, the fans or the club. www.tsendex.blogspot.com will spying on your well being.

From experience, less emphasis is put on paper-work. Social football times are gone. There must be written plans that you, Ndlela, as Chairman must know what they mean, read them, and understand. They must be the GPS to show where we are going. You are ever the co-pilot, the Captain of the ship. Trust on your instincts and put your balls in the vice, not what you have shown so far, we are fed-up.

There has been a lot of mistakes and mishaps caused by your Executive and that time ends with you here. I have always wanted to say whoever can take the reins, let them do so on their accord and we see where they will take the team, but I wish to apologise to the candidature and person of Mr. Moyo and say, let Ndlela take the Chair and let him know that we are watching. Watching like hawks. Let's vote Ndlela in.