Sports / Soccer
Dembare bus creates fissures at the club
25 May 2013 at 12:22hrs | Views
The Dynamos leadership is at loggerheads with an influencial supporters' association, accusing the body of creating tension between the club and its official sponsor BancABC.
The Dynamos Fans Harare Chapter attracted the ire of the club after securing sponsorship from a local tobacco company in the form of a branded bus, which they use to ferry fans to both home and away matches.
The club's top brass claims the supporters have no legal right to act on behalf of the club and use its name for marketing purposes.
Dynamos board representatives, management and a legal representative summoned the supporters' body's leadership to a meeting in Harare yesterday, where they read the riot act.
"We told them that we do not recognise them," a board source told the Daily News yesterday.
"They are free to look for sponsorship on their own, but they must not use the club's name because as a club we do not have registered supporters."
Board secretary Chris Kasiyazi yesterday revealed details of the meeting.
"We had a meeting to try to get the background on how they managed to get the bus," he said.
"They explained their position. We told them we do not want issues that create conflict with our sponsors. We cannot be a club where everyone is doing all sorts of things. There is no harm (in acquiring the bus), but we don't want it to lead into contractual issues with our sponsors.
"We just wanted clarification on what they are trying to do. Sponsors are welcome, but it must be orderly and they must come in a way which doesn't cause conflict."
It is not the first the Zimbabwean champions have clashed with the company, Savanna Tobacco.
Last season, Dynamos players were temporarily forced to drop the popular Zora Butter celebratory dance after the club accused Savanna of "counter-marketing their product and brand riding on Dynamos' popularity."
This was after Savanna partnered the club's fans and adopted Zora Butter as its marketing slogan.
Savanna and the supporters' body representatives could not be reached for comment yesterday.
The Dynamos Fans Harare Chapter attracted the ire of the club after securing sponsorship from a local tobacco company in the form of a branded bus, which they use to ferry fans to both home and away matches.
The club's top brass claims the supporters have no legal right to act on behalf of the club and use its name for marketing purposes.
Dynamos board representatives, management and a legal representative summoned the supporters' body's leadership to a meeting in Harare yesterday, where they read the riot act.
"We told them that we do not recognise them," a board source told the Daily News yesterday.
"They are free to look for sponsorship on their own, but they must not use the club's name because as a club we do not have registered supporters."
Board secretary Chris Kasiyazi yesterday revealed details of the meeting.
"We had a meeting to try to get the background on how they managed to get the bus," he said.
"They explained their position. We told them we do not want issues that create conflict with our sponsors. We cannot be a club where everyone is doing all sorts of things. There is no harm (in acquiring the bus), but we don't want it to lead into contractual issues with our sponsors.
"We just wanted clarification on what they are trying to do. Sponsors are welcome, but it must be orderly and they must come in a way which doesn't cause conflict."
It is not the first the Zimbabwean champions have clashed with the company, Savanna Tobacco.
Last season, Dynamos players were temporarily forced to drop the popular Zora Butter celebratory dance after the club accused Savanna of "counter-marketing their product and brand riding on Dynamos' popularity."
This was after Savanna partnered the club's fans and adopted Zora Butter as its marketing slogan.
Savanna and the supporters' body representatives could not be reached for comment yesterday.
Source - dailynews
