Council lobbied on Barbourfields Stadium levy

By The NewsDay | Dec. 1, 2012 | 3 Min read

BOARD of Trustees of the Mayor’s Christmas Cheer Fund will lobby the Bulawayo City Council to reduce the 20% levy charged on clubs for the use of Barbourfields Stadium (BF) for their Premier Soccer League matches.

Chairman of the board, Nathan Nhira, said this yesterday while responding to questions at a Press conference on the Mayor’s Cheer Fund charity match between Highlanders and Chicken Inn set for Barbourfields Stadium tomorrow.

Highlanders wrote to the city fathers in September asking the municipality to review the 20% levy on gate its takings at “Emagumeni”, but that request was turned down only for the council to invite Bosso to take part in the charity match tomorrow.

Nhira said he was aware that there had been an outcry from clubs over the levy.

“The lobbying can be done. We want this to be a win-win scenario and where the city council can assist they should assist. We will lobby for that as the board,” Nhira said.

However, the general feeling was that the matter was a policy issue but the city council’s senior public relations officer Nesisa Mpofu said she could not respond to that question at the Mayor’s Cheer Fund forum.

Nhira paid tribute to Highlanders and Chicken Inn for accepting the invitation to play in the match whose proceeds would be channelled to under-privileged members of the Bulawayo community.

“This is a historic event in Bulawayo. We would like to appreciate the commitment from the two teams for coming in for this social responsibility cause. Our major objective is to bring cheer to the under-privileged — and what a way for the two teams to take part.

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“It’s a form of fund-raising strategy. We hope it will provide entertainment for the community and raise funds for the under-privileged. We will be handing over the donation to the various recipients on December 19. We believe we will raise a sizeable amount from this match,” Nhira said.

The Mayor’s Cheer Fund has set this year’s target at $150 000 and has so far raised more than $30 000.

Lifa Ncube, Chicken Inn and Highlanders committee member Charles “Six-One” Moyo said they were honoured to be part of the occasion to raise funds for the less fortunate.

Chicken Inn head coach Adam “Adamski” Ndlovu said they will be fielding a full strength team for the match that will include skipper, Castle Lager Premiership Footballer of the Year finalist Felix Chindungwe and Kudakwashe Mahachi.

Bosso, who also have four players in the football stars calendar, captain Innocent Mapuranga, Mthulisi Maphosa, Masimba Mambare and goalkeeper Ariel Sibanda said they will be playing their full strength squad tomorrow.

Spectators wishing to watch the game from the VIP will have to fork out $5, while those in the wings will pay $3 and the rest of the ground will be $2.

The charity match which will now been an annual event, has been okayed by the Premier Soccer League.

Highlanders and Chicken Inn drew both their games in the league that were played at BF.

Highlanders Legends and City of Kings Football Club will curtain raise the main match with Adamski playing for the former while Agent “Ajira” Sawu will feature for the latter.