Highlanders Football Club met with Savanna Tobacco at the weekend to map the way forward for the cigarette manufacturing company’s new sponsorship deal for the 2012 Castle Lager Premiership with the Bulawayo football giants.
Savanna Tobacco marketing manager Fadzai Chariga yesterday confirmed they met new Highlanders chairman Peter Dube and treasurer Odiel Nkomo and said they were in the process of finalising the deal, finer details of which would be announced by the end of the week.
“We had a meeting with the new chairman (Dube) and Nkomo on Saturday, and we are actually in the process of finalising the deal and by the end of the week you will be in the picture. The meeting was held here in Harare,” Chariga said.
This comes at a time when former Highlanders chairman Themba Ndlela announced at the club’s annual general meeting (AGM) on January 29 that Savanna Tobacco were returning to sponsor Highlanders after a two-year absence.
Ndlela revealed that Savanna had released an undisclosed sum of money to take care of players’ signing-on fees.
Several Bosso fans had ruled out Ndlela’s announcement as a campaign gimmick for the executive elections which were due to be held a week later, but sources revealed that Savanna had injected $50 000 into the club for signing-on fees.
At the time Ndlela said the full package of the sponsorship deal would be announced at an official function on a date to be announced.
Nkomo also confirmed at the AGM that they had met with a Savanna Tobacco senior official three days before the meeting.
- Chamisa under fire over US$120K donation
- Mavhunga puts DeMbare into Chibuku quarterfinals
- Pension funds bet on Cabora Bassa oilfields
- Councils defy govt fire tender directive
Keep Reading
Quizzed on the Savanna Tobacco sponsorship deal yesterday, new chairman Dube could only say: “It’s all under discussion.”
Nkomo was not reachable on his mobile phone when NewsDay Sport sought to get a comment on the deal, which seems to have been kept under wraps.
The coming-in of Savanna could financially cushion Bosso, who have been reeling under a heavy debt, having last year penned a three-year deal with BancABC, which sees the financial institution take care of salaries for the players and technical staff.
Highlanders, together with Dynamos and police side Black Mambas, also received kits from BancABC as part of the sponsorship deal.
Two weeks ago, a new mobile network company, Broadacom, indicated they would establish a partnership with the Bulawayo football giants during the launch of the firm at Suburbs Squash Club.
Yesterday, Dube said Highlanders had not formalised anything yet with Broadacom, whose general manager Gerald Zumbika confirmed the partnership on March 2.
Bakers Inn’s sponsorship with Highlanders runs until March 31 while Buscod Supermarkets ended their partnership with Bosso on December 31 last year.
Bosso have been mired in financial problems that last year saw Minister of Mines and Mining Development Obert Mpofu pay off the outstanding salaries of Egyptian coach Mohamed Fathi amounting to $22 000 after a protracted court battle.
