TONGAAT Hulett, owners of newly-promoted Castle Lager Premier Soccer League side Hippo Valley, have bowed to pressure from the community and have ceded the team to the Lowveld residents.
BY KENNETH NYANGANI SPORTS CORRESPONDENT
The giant sugar-producing company disbanded the team last year, saying that they were not able to fund two Premiership teams as they also sponsor Triangle and it could also have contravened Fifa rules.
But unions representing Hippo Valley Estates workers had threatened to take industrial action to press for Tongaat Hulett to continue financing the team in top-flight football this year.
The plan was that if the company stood by its decision to disband the team, the workers and the community would take over the funding of the side. However, all outstanding issues are expected to be finalised today in Chiredzi before Hippo Valley can be officially announced as 2014 Eastern Region PSL candidates.
They will also announce their new executive today in the presence of Eastern Region administrator Tedious Machawira.
Eastern Region chairman Fungai Chihuri confirmed the development yesterday to NewsDay Sport.
“They have agreed (Tongaat Hulett) with (Lowveld residents) (between themselves) to cede the team to the community. Everything will be finalised (tomorrow) today in Chiredzi, the only thing that has remained is that the community should appoint their new executive and this is going to be done tomorrow (today).
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“Machawira (Zifa Eastern Region administrator) is going to Chiredzi to oversee all the activities. I think it was unfair that the players and coaches who worked very hard for the entire year could not enjoys their sweat in Premier League this year. I think the community deserve the franchise after all the support they gave to the team,” he added.
In an interview with this publication yesterday from his base in Chiredzi, Moses Chunga, who led the team into the top-flight, said it was never the community’s intention to fight the company.
“This is a positive development for both the community and the players. It was never the community’s intention to fight the company. For some of us, we came here to develop talent in Chiredzi and it was unfair that our dreams could have ended like that after what we had started,” he added.
Machawira said: “I’m going to oversee the meeting where the new executive is going to be chosen. We are not even aware how they are going to do it, maybe they are going to change the name of the team. They just said come and see how we are going to do it. But what I know is that the team has been ceded to the community,” he said.
Tongaat Hulett corporate affairs manager Adelaide Chikunguru did not respond to numerous calls on her mobile number yesterday when sought for comment. Hippo Valley will now join Chapungu (Central Region), Plumtree Chiefs (Southern Region) and ZPC Kariba (Northern Region) in the Premiership.
Once all formalities are completed, PSL chief executive officer Kennedy Ndebele will conduct an induction course for the quartet.
