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Dynamos not reachable

Sport
DYNAMOS have said they will not take part in the NetOne Charity Shield unless they are given their prize money for winning the tournament last year.

DYNAMOS have said they will not take part in the NetOne Charity Shield unless they are given their prize money for winning the tournament last year.

Report by Henry Mhara

The league champions are demanding the full purse of $50 000, but NetOne — the sponsors of the tournament — are insisting on paying the players an “appreciation fee” for their participation in the tourney.

The mobile operator argues that Dynamos, who are bankrolled by BancABC, were in breach of the tournament rules when they refused to wear jerseys branded with the NetOne logo on the front space. A Dynamos source yesterday said the team would “definitely” not take part in this year’s edition.

“We have made ourselves very clear on that issue. We hear NetOne are saying we will play, but what will be the reason for taking part in a competition which we know we will not get our reward. Unless they give us our money from last season, we will definitely not play in that competition this year. And again we will not sacrifice our sponsorship with BancABC for a one-off sponsorship. Principal sponsors are always given first preference on the front space the world over and for NetOne to demand the space for their tourney is unheard of,” the source said.

Dynamos vice-chairman Webster Chikengezha, who also doubles up as the club’s secretary-general, yesterday said: “We have put our submissions to the Premier Soccer League regarding the NetOne issue and we are still waiting to hear from them. We will stand guided by them and we will also sit down as a club to decide if we should compete or not.”

But NetOne has already opened a voting platform through the short message service (sms) for fans to vote for clubs they want to see taking part in the competition.

Unlike in previous years when the top two teams from the preceding season would compete, all the 16 teams have the chance to participate in the tourney this year.

The four teams which will receive the highest number of votes from fans will play in the tourney that now acts as a season opener. “The sms voting is a tripartite agreement comprising NetOne, PSL and E-Top Up who facilitated short code 38080 to enable subscribers to select their teams.

“There are rules and regulations on how you cast your vote. A full list of the teams in the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League will be published to allow voting. Select the team of your choice and sms that to the short code,”

NetOne managing director Reward Kangai said during the unveiling on Thursday.