Former Highlanders team manager and Warriors medic, Emmett Ndlovu, will battle Andrew Tapela for the post of secretary-general when elections take place at the beginning of February.
Tapela holds the post and had indicated he was seeking re-election, while another former team manager, Jerry Sibanda, had also expressed interest.
Ndlovu’s confirmation to NewsDay Sport yesterday put an end to speculation in the Highlanders community the former medic was being lobbied by former club players to contest.
The chairman and committee member posts are also up for grabs.
“I have responded to the Highlanders community calls for me to enter the race and be secretary-general. Yes, I will be standing for the secretary-general post,” he said.
“The long and short of it is that I want to take the Highlanders institution to where it belongs. I will be releasing my manifesto in the next two weeks. It will show how I want to contribute to the club that nurtured me,” he said.
Ndlovu said he was hoping to work with all those interested in ensuring the club returned to its former status. In recent years, Highlanders has been on the decline with match attendance drastically dropping. In the last season the former league champions ended on position seven.
“I want to have an open-door policy. People must feel free to contribute to the club because everyone is important in the society, whether it’s a supporter or a sponsor of the club,” he said.
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It has also been reported former players agreed Sibanda should not contest for the secretary-general post as that would split votes, but should wait to contest for the post of treasurer. Odiel Nkomo, whose term runs until the end of this year, occupies the post.
Former players have also been agitating for club legend Peter Ndlovu to take over from Themba Ndlela as chairman, but the former Warriors skipper has said no formal approach has been made to him.
Ndlela, who already has 55 votes in the bag from influential social club Amavevane, faces businessman Mandla Moyo — the same man he beat when he rose to the second most coveted and elected post in local football after the Zifa presidency.
Amavevane attempted to divorce itself from Highlanders through adverts flighted in Bulawayo papers three years ago, but have now come out in support of Ndlela.
Ndlela has already appointed former club striker and Zanaco of Zambia assistant coach, Kevin Kaindu, as the new gaffer. He will be assisted by Bekithemba Ndlovu and goalkeepers’ coach Tembo Chuma.
Kaindu is finishing up a coaching course at English Championship side Reading Academy and arrives in the country on January 15, to find a club heavily depleted in terms of players.
Gilbert Banda, Louis Matawu, Mernard Mupera, Brighton Dube, Joel and Zephaniah Ngodzo quit to join FC Platinum last year, while influential players like Rahman Kutsanzira, Innocent Mapuranga, Bruce Kangwa and Graham Ncube are yet to renew their contracts.
