Published by the government of Zimbabwe
Augustine Hwata
18 July 2008
Harare — Ben Muchedzi - a former director of defunct Premiership side Blackpool - has come out of his shell and added his voice to those condemning the way in which service providers at football matches are reaping more financial rewards than the clubs.
Muchedzi, who has taken a back seat from football administration, said he decided to add his voice after learning of Shooting Stars' plight last week.
The Wild Boys took home just over $10 trillion as net profit after having grossed $93 trillion from their Premiership tie against Highlanders on Wednesday last week.
Shooting Stars vice-chairman Douglas Mkwaiwa was left moaning over the high levies going to the service providers like the Zimbabwe Republic Police and the Harare City Council, who both took home more than the club.
The PSL, Zifa, the Sports Commission and the ambulance medical team also received substantial amounts from the gate receipts.
Dynamos have also complained over the levies being imposed for ground rentals, police, SRC and PSL levies while the clubs also continue to lose on revenue generated from touchline advertising.
This week, Muchedzi, one of the founding Blackpool directors alongside Ronnie Chihota, Joel Salifu, Forbes Mutava, Joe Masenda and Ginger Chinguwa, lamented the current state of affairs.
"I was reading how Shooting Stars were crying over the net profit from the game against Highlanders and I am not surprised at all.
"The same reasons why Shooting Stars and other clubs are crying right now is the same reason why Blackpool folded.
"We really loved our football and had a great vision by investing.
"Our football has a lot of money but the sad thing is that there are a lot of sharks waiting to reap where they did not sow.
"In the end the clubs, who draw the crowds to matches, and their players are left to struggle financially yet the sharks go home with full purses," said Muchedzi.
Muchedzi said he was disappointed to note that little has changed from the time he quit mainstream football administration in the mid-1990s to the present day.
"Back then we could get our funds together for the teams and we drew large crowds at matches.
"The most disappointing thing was that Zifa, the police and the PSL would rush to demand their levies and nobody cared what the players, who had drawn the crowds, were going to take home.
"I think it's wise to first put into account the expenses accrued by clubs for a particular game and then deduct the 20 percent levies from the surplus," said Muchedzi.
He also pointed out that the current system in which the home team takes 100 percent of the gate takings was not in the best interests of football.
He believes a situation in which the home teams takes about 70 percent while the away team gets 30 percent gate takings from each game would cushion the clubs.
"While clubs continually cry over levies, they should also build strong support bases so that their fans attend their home matches.
"In our local leagues, the only time some of the clubs make a profit from the gates is when they play Dynamos, Highlanders or CAPS United and this is just one game for the season.
"For me it's folly for a team like Eastern Lions in Mutare to make profit only when they play Dynamos at Sakubva and yet the other 10 or so home matches struggle.
"I say why not build a strong support base and get a lot of fans to each and every game the teams plays?
"Back then I remember we had 11 supporters in our first home game and I personally went around bottles stores and meeting places in Glen View, Glen Norah, Highfield and Mbare looking for that noisy guy among gatherings.
"It was simple that I would engage them in a conversation, buy them a drink, distribute a few regalia and invite them to our matches.
"We had 200 people at our next home game and there were more than a thousand in the third.
"By the time Blackpool folded, we had won people's hearts at home and away matches," he said.
The ex-Blackpool director who travelled with the team during their African Cup of Cup Winners campaign in 1995, said clubs should also build their own stadiums.
"Only Eric Rosen has tried something. We placed a lot of investment into football but it's like pouring money down the drain.
"It's like we train a horse, take it for a race and it wins but it's someone else who takes the winning stakes.
"In the end it's difficult to motivate the same horse and jockey to win and the club management face the same situation with their players.
"Since the days of Blackpool, I have never set foot at Gwanzura again because of the raw deal we got from our football investment."
But while Muchedzi joined clubs in condemning the high service charges, a senior official in the Harare City Council has remained defiant on their rentals.
"We pay a lot in cleaning the stadiums after each game, from the terraces, toilets and the vicinity.
"Actually what councils get is just to break even because the expenses are more.
"It's funny that the same clubs are complaining yet they will have agreed to the regulations before renting our grounds.
"It's like a tenant who agrees to pay $10 every month but once he is asked to settle the bill, complains that it should $5," said the official.
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