Bosso leadership in crisis meeting

THE cash crisis bedevilling Highlanders FC, which saw players embarking on industrial action twice in the past two months, led to a joint meeting by the club's executive committee and board on Saturday. Saturday's urgent joint meeting came just days after the players staged a sit-in at the Bosso offices over unpaid salaries and outstanding signing-on fees.

Sources said the board decided to intervene due to the "negative" publicity Bosso has been drawing to itself lately.

The players also reportedly wrote to the board seeking its intervention, as they have lost faith in the executive committee to deal with their grievances.

"The board and executive met on Saturday in a no holds barred meeting. Truths were said in the meeting and a comprehensive statement will be issued to communicate to the club's members, fans and sympathisers. There are concerns that the club is going through difficulties yet those assigned with steering the ship are not notifying the custodians of the club. Hopefully, after this meeting something concrete will come up," said a source.

Club chairman Johnfat Sibanda reportedly assured players last Wednesday that they would be paid their June dues this week. Bosso players are demanding that the club awards them US$100 each as a salary top-up. Club spokesperson Ronald Moyo did not respond to questions from Chronicle Sport.

Meanwhile, Highlanders president Ndumiso Gumede has taken to social media to remind members and supporters that the club is operating under extreme and a harsh economic environment, which makes it difficult for the corporate world to come on board. Gumede said it was a known fact that the club has no sponsorship largely because of a "depressed economic environment due to the Covid-19 pandemic".

Gumede was responding to Thabisa Sibanda who had tweeted that an unnamed Highlanders' player owed him rentals for the past 14 months and as such Highlanders must simply pay the debt and not negotiate with him "because the player had done all the talk for the past 14 months".

Last week Bosso resolved to dispatch members of the executive to meet players' landlords over outstanding rentals.

"I am a landlord to a Bosso player. I haven't received a message from Bosso. May I please ask that they pay the rent and not talk to me. The player has done all that talk thing for the past 14 months," tweeted Sibanda.

"Bosso must thank you for keeping their player under such difficult times with no football being played and no gate takings coupled with the club not enjoying any sponsorship in the depressed economic situation made worse by the pandemic (Covid-19), where will the club get money from?" wrote Gumede. Sibanda did not respond.