Sports / Local
Highlanders say no to Confederations Cup
23 Dec 2010 at 13:29hrs | Views
HIGHLANDERS have reiterated that they will not compete in this year Caf Confederations Cup despite being thrown into the hat in the draw held in Cairo, Egypt, on Monday.Bosso were drawn to meet Zambian side Nchanga Rangers in a preliminary round tie.
The winner of that tie will then meet Congolese side FC Lupopo in a first round battle.
The Bulawayo giants inclusion in the Confederations Cup draw was a surprise given that the Bosso leadership had made it clear that they did not have the funds for an adventure on the continent.
Bosso haven't been spared by the financial problems haunting the domestic clubs, despite their size as one of the two biggest clubs in the country, and their income has suffered from dwindling attendance figures at Barbourfields.
Highlanders faced a number of problems with their players this season, largely centred on the financial challenges facing the club and its ability to pay them their dues in time, and there were incidents of unrest at the team.
Club chairman Temba Ndhlela revealed yesterday that his position, regarding their participation in the 2011 Confederation Cup, had not changed.
"The teams position hasn't changed and we said that unless we get funding we will not be able to participate in the Confederation Cup," said Ndhlela.
"As early as December 1, we made our position clear and we haven't changed from that because we haven't received the funding.
"We had financial problems as a club this season and we almost lost our team bus, because of debts dating back to the last time that we participated in the Caf competitions and we were promised some money by the Reserve Bank which never came.
"So we need to be careful to protect the club against accruing more debts by taking part in the competition."
The Highlanders boss said the mere fact that they didn't even register any players for the 2011 Confederation Cup was a clear message that they were not ready to play in the tournament.
"We haven't registered any players for the tournament and how then can you play in a tournament when you haven't registered players?
"I think there was concern that if the clubs don't participate in the Confederation Cup, then we might lose the extra slots that we got from Caf.
"But we don't have the funding to participate and we can't make the sacrifice just for the sake of keeping the extra slots."
Bosso finished strongly in the second half of the season, where they were clearly the best performing team on the domestic Premiership, with youthful coach Mkhuphali Masuku waving his magic in the hot seat.
The Bulawayo giants were undefeated, in the league, under Masuku going for a dozen games without a defeat in which they only dropped four points.
There are high hopes in the Bosso camp that their team could make a big impression in the league championship challenge next season.
The winner of that tie will then meet Congolese side FC Lupopo in a first round battle.
The Bulawayo giants inclusion in the Confederations Cup draw was a surprise given that the Bosso leadership had made it clear that they did not have the funds for an adventure on the continent.
Bosso haven't been spared by the financial problems haunting the domestic clubs, despite their size as one of the two biggest clubs in the country, and their income has suffered from dwindling attendance figures at Barbourfields.
Highlanders faced a number of problems with their players this season, largely centred on the financial challenges facing the club and its ability to pay them their dues in time, and there were incidents of unrest at the team.
Club chairman Temba Ndhlela revealed yesterday that his position, regarding their participation in the 2011 Confederation Cup, had not changed.
"The teams position hasn't changed and we said that unless we get funding we will not be able to participate in the Confederation Cup," said Ndhlela.
"As early as December 1, we made our position clear and we haven't changed from that because we haven't received the funding.
"We had financial problems as a club this season and we almost lost our team bus, because of debts dating back to the last time that we participated in the Caf competitions and we were promised some money by the Reserve Bank which never came.
"So we need to be careful to protect the club against accruing more debts by taking part in the competition."
The Highlanders boss said the mere fact that they didn't even register any players for the 2011 Confederation Cup was a clear message that they were not ready to play in the tournament.
"We haven't registered any players for the tournament and how then can you play in a tournament when you haven't registered players?
"I think there was concern that if the clubs don't participate in the Confederation Cup, then we might lose the extra slots that we got from Caf.
"But we don't have the funding to participate and we can't make the sacrifice just for the sake of keeping the extra slots."
Bosso finished strongly in the second half of the season, where they were clearly the best performing team on the domestic Premiership, with youthful coach Mkhuphali Masuku waving his magic in the hot seat.
The Bulawayo giants were undefeated, in the league, under Masuku going for a dozen games without a defeat in which they only dropped four points.
There are high hopes in the Bosso camp that their team could make a big impression in the league championship challenge next season.
Source - Chronicle
