Dembare's secret out

DYNAMOS' big secret - an impending deal - that everyone in the Glamour Boys management is reluctant to open up on, seems to have come out of the bag following revelations that a multi-national company, Gold Leaf Tobacco, are set to unveil a hefty sponsorship package to cushion the giants for the next five years.

Sources said the Harare giants and Gold Leaf Tobacco have agreed in principle to go into marriage and both sides have signed a non-disclosure clause until the official launch of the sponsorship.

DeMbare, who have been struggling to pay their players in the last two months, are understood to have received an initial $150 000 chunk from the company last week with part of the money going towards the signing-on fees for new players and salaries for January and February. It is understood that Gold Leaf Tobacco will sponsor DeMbare through one of their Rudland and George cigarette brands.

The company which is owned by business tycoon Simon George Rudland also has strong roots in South Africa. However, Dynamos spokesperson Tinashe Farawo yesterday refused to shed light on the deal.

"Obviously people can speculate. They have been speculating for some time, with some linking us to a mega-deal with Lafarge yet we had never spoken to them.

"Of course negotiations with potential sponsors have been taking place but at the moment there is nothing to talk about. Apparently, I am not the one who announce sponsorship deals and issues of that nature. When we reach that time, the chairman will let you know," said Farawo.

DeMbare are also still chasing NetOne for the possible extension of their one-year deal that expired at the end of 2018. The Glamour Boys together with Highlanders and CAPS United, Dynamos received a package of $350 000 each from NetOne.

The funds covered salaries, signing-on fees and other administrative expenses for the clubs. NetOne went a step further to provide playing and training kits before expanding their sponsorship of domestic football to two other Premiership clubs Chapungu and Black Rhinos. But the telecommunications giants have been mum on the 2019 deal.

Farawo, however, confirmed that Dynamos had managed to pay their players last week. He also revealed that the club had terminated talks with their former midfielder Archford Gutu who had been training with the team in the hope of landing a fresh deal in their rebuilding exercise.

However, there has been an impasse over the financial aspects of the deal with Gutu also insisting on a one-year contract that could enable him to move easily if he impresses foreign teams.

"Our negotiations with Gutu have broken down for good. He is one person that the coaches had recommended highly because of his talent and experience.

"We even compromised a lot on most of his demands including adjusting his salary upwards but we discovered that his attitude was not in tandem with what we are aiming to achieve as a club.

"As Dynamos we are rebuilding a team and at the moment we are looking for players who are committed to that cause hence we had been giving most of our players contracts not less than two years.

"Again you see that he has been training with us all along in the understanding that he will be one of us but suddenly he disappeared and we heard he was now at Manica Diamonds.

"Now that his intended move to Manica Diamonds has failed to materialise he comes back to try and revive the talks with us.

"Remember he is the same player who trained with us when he returned from Sweden a few years back but then went on to join CAPS United when he had given us assurances.

"So we have rejected him. We cannot be seen to be the club that players use to find better deals elsewhere. As a result, there is no deal. We feel the mercenary attitude is not good for our team," said Farawo.

DeMbare yesterday edged Karoi United 1-0 via a goal from defender Munyaradzi Mawadza in a friendly match at Chikangwe.