The ManicaPost
Ray Bande Senior Sports Reporter
MUTARE City Council has remained adamant that it can only afford to support the team with $150 000 only, an amount that will be disbursed quarterly subject to availability of funds.
The stance by the local authority, which was presented at a meeting held on Tuesday at Civic Centre, comes against the background of a $600 000 budget that the club had presented to Mutare City Council to meet all their expenses for the 2018 Castle Lager Premiership season.
According to a document presented during the Tuesday meeting signed by the Acting Housing Director one Nyamangondo, which this newspaper is in possession of, the local authority said Mutare City Rovers FC should embark on fundraising and marketing activities in order to ensure their survival.
The report to council, headlined Mutare City Rovers sponsorship for 2018 season reads, “4.1 That Mutare City Rovers should engage in marketing and fundraising activities. 4.2 That Mutare City Rovers should look for external sponsorship to augment one from City Council. 4.3 That Mutare City Council is able to sponsor Mutare City Rovers to the tune of $150 000 as has been budgeted in the 2018 budget.
“5 Relevant information: Mutare City Rovers Football Club has been playing in Division One in 2017 which they finished on top of the log. They have now been promoted to play in the Premier League, which is the highest football league in the country.
“Besides Mutare City Rovers, we have got netball City Queens, Tug of war and the inter city games. All of these are taken care of by council. Therefore the council 2018 budget for sports is as follows: City Rovers Football Club — $150 000, Netball City Queens $37 864, Tug of war — $15 000, Inter City sports programme – $50 954. Total – $253 853.00.
“However, it should be noted that the above amount is not always readily available. The money will be disbursed on a quarterly basis or as and when requested subject to availability of funds.
‘‘Attached hereto is the proposed budget for sponsorship prepared by Mutare City Rovers. The budget total amount stands at $619 194.00. Council is not able to sponsor this amount given the current cash flows.”
The development has left the local authority owned team in quandary given that $15 000 only will not be sufficient to meet the exorbitant costs of life in the domestic Premiership football league.
That Mutare City Rovers club had submitted a $619 194.00 budget for the 2018 Premiership season and were only given $150 000 puts into context the financial challenges that the team is highly likely to face when action resumes in the top flight league.
Efforts to source sponsorship are not yielding any fruits after a funeral parlour that almost agreed on modalities to sponsor the club chickened out of deal.
Post Sport understands that the funeral parlour wanted the local authority employees to have funeral policies with the company in return for the sponsorship package, something the Mutare City Council could not offer.
