FC PLATINUM president George Mawere has appealed for calm among the club’s fans after an indifferent start to the 2015 Castle Lager Premier Soccer League season.
BY SPORTS EDITOR
The Zvishavane-based side has won once in four outings, lost twice and drawn once, in addition to bombing out of the Caf Confederation Cup, putting some pressure on coach Norman Mapeza. This afternoon, they defend their Independence Trophy against Dynamos at the National Sports Stadium before facing Harare City in a league match on Wednesday at Rufaro.
In a statement on Thursday, Mawere said: “I have always firmly believed that FC Platinum goes beyond the 11 players who battle it out week in and week out, but include our fans, media, our sponsors and all great men and women who have contributed into building this strong and vibrant brand.
“Without our fans there is no FC Platinum. They cheer when we win and cry with us when we are down. For this reason, it is important that as the executive we keep them continuously updated on the developments of the team and plead for their patience when fortunes are seemingly subdued on the field of play.
“Despite the indifferent recent results, I am pleased that our fans have been thoroughly behind the coach and his charges. The media too are a key partner to our club. Very often we look at ourselves through our own eyes. However, our media friends allow us to have a different view of our team and how it is performing.
“That said it would be amiss of me not to mention that of late we have been featuring on media pages and shadowy social platforms for reasons that have little to do with our performance on the field of play. While undoubtedly this suggests that we are a growing brand and, therefore, have begun to attract a lot of attention, we must still appeal for sensitivity and respect whenever a decision is made to put pen to paper.
He added: “For any relationship to grow, it must be based on mutual respect and utmost professionalism. In the same way, we always appeal to our fans to respect those that disagree with us and opposing teams not to take the law into their own hands.
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“We make a special call to our media partners and various friends to exercise self-introspection and offer fair judgment when they choose to say or write on matters that involve our coach, players and entire FC Platinum family.
“In FC Platinum they are fathers, sons and even daughters, and whenever hurtful messages are sent out without due regard to factuality and truthfulness, we are doing injustice to our communities our families and to our country Zimbabwe.
“On our part, we will continue in our efforts to enhance access to media into our different structures, including our technical department players and executive. Our dedicated media department is always ready to respond to various issues you may need clarified. While some have seen our coach as aloof, it is important to appreciate that he will be in work mode and approached in more favourable circumstances, he will attend to any queries.”
