Fading giants name new club boss

DYNAMOS have ended weeks of speculation and named long-serving benefactor Solomon Sanyamandwe as their new club president. The Glamour Boys have been without a president since Kenny Mubaiwa quit in a huff on June 7.

Sanyamandwe had resigned from his post as Dynamos vice-president at the start of the year citing some frustrations. It emerged that after a series of meetings during which the board considered a number of names that had been eyeing the president's post, the Dynamos founding fathers decided to settle for Sanyamandwe.

Dynamos board chairman Bernard Marriot told The Herald yesterday that Sanyamandwe would now work with the recently-appointed new executive at the club and would, crucially, also be an ex-officio member of the board of directors. He will now combine efforts with the executive chaired by banker Isiah Mupfurutsa in trying to restore some glamour at the former champions.

"At the end of June we sat as a board and considered the need to find a new president. We met again on Sunday to finalise the matter and we considered Solomon's contributions to the club and felt that he can take the club to dizzy heights,'' said Marriot.

"We had a number of people who were eyeing the post of president but as a board we settled for Solomon.

We also resolved that from now on the president will be an ex-officio member of the board and he will be the link between the executive and the board. "This will help end some of the blame games that have happened in the past between the board and the executive.

"The board has also been doing a lot of consultations and considerations on strategies to strengthen the Dynamos brand and we will soon announce some sub-committees and personnel who will help us in that endeavour.

"On the supporters side we resolved to have some order and we have Benjamin Munzira heading the national supporters body that is tasked with mobilising all the chapters across the country''.

Marriot said his board had also since formally written to their former president Mubaiwa and paid tribute to his service to the club, noting that Dynamos had won four successive league championships under his leadership.

"I must also say the board wrote to Mr Mubaiwa on 13 June to thank him for the invaluable services he rendered to the club since 2002 up to this year.

"The board also took note of the fact that he invested a lot of personal resources into the club's campaign, which campaign saw the club winning four league championships,'' Marriot said.

Sanyamandwe, whose romance with Dynamos has been spread over two decades, said yesterday he was honoured at being tasked to lead the country's biggest club.

"I am humbled by this appointment and I would like to pledge to work hard together with the executive team to restore the Dynamos glory.

"We might not win the league title this year but we would want to use the remainder of this season to lay a firm groundwork to win the 2019 championship and we are aware that we have to plan for that now.

''We believe that Dynamos should be a vehicle through our sponsors NetOne must also be visible. "It is also our belief collectively as the aboard and the executive that Dynamos should not only lead the log standings but should play a leading role in helping to chart a new direction our football should take.''