By Milton Mashasha Sports Reporter in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe.
(News of The South) -It never rains but pours for the Zimbabwean oldest Bulawayo football giants Highlanders FC who have lost quite a number of their key players in search for better renumerations or for greener pastures with others deserting the club for a better scale of payment.
The latest player to move away from the club being Mitchell Katsvairo who has since joined the Botswana Gaborone based outfit Township Rollers.
The Covid 19 pandemic which has caused a lot of harm in the entire World in every sector or professionals with footballers the mostly affected since the sport is more of contact than other proffessions or other sporting activities which can be done with less contact. Footballers depend on professional playing soccer for their source of income for survival.
Ironically, in Zimbabwe, soccer matches were supposed to resume in the first week of April 2020 but due to the deadly disease the Corona Virus all plans went up in smoke in March after the matches were canceled as precautional measures to curb against the disease.
Most players sustain their families through playing soccer as their proffession, without soccer life becomes gloomy and no light at the end of the tunnel.
The former Chicken Inn star Mitchell Katsvairo had earlier signed a one year contract with the Bulawayo giants, the contract was about to expire without him kicking the ball, he only featured for Highlanders in March in a Castle Challenge match against FC Platinum at Barbourfields stadium where the host lost 2-0 to hand over the cup to the Zvishavane based outfit FC Platinum.
All went wrong after their prodigal son Prince Dube got a better offer in Tanzania and he was sold to avoid loss since he was likely to see his contract out if he was not allowed to move.
Prince Dube joined the Tanzanian side Azam home to former teammate at Highlanders Bruce Kwangwa and fellow countryman former FC Platinum midfielder Never Tigere.
Other players that left the club as free agent are Tinashe Makanda, Denzel Khumalo and Brain Banda who moved out after the expiry of their contracts with Khumalo and Banda joining FC Platinum whilst Makanda was rumored to be joining the great divide Highlanders’fierce arch rivals Dynamos fc although the Dembare officials denied the rumour but the latest rumour circulating is that Tinashe Makanda is on his way to Kosovo for trials to try his luck there.
Moreover other players who are rumoured to leave the club and follow their former coach Pieter Hendricks De Jongh are Peter Muduhwa, Nqobizitha Masuku and skipper Aerial Sibanda.
Hendricks is an admirer of most Highlanders players who is capable to lure most of them to the Zvishavane side who are preparing for the Caf Champions League.
Highlanders who hired Mark Harrison after the departure of Pieter Hendricks De Jongh, the former was allowed to go back to his native County due to Corona virus and is currently away in Britain, Highlanders are yet to respond to replace those key players who left the void in the squad which was assembled for the 2020 season.
The club now needs to dig deep to reinforce their squad in order to fight for honours otherwise they will find themselves fighting relegation.
Zifa has proposed February 2021 as the likely month for the restart of the full new 2021 football season after the Covid 19 outbreak for 2020 season.
#Go Warriors Go.
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