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Innocent Kurira, Sports Reporter
Highlanders hope to maximise on their huge online following to educate the public about the deadly Covid-19 that has up to date claimed one life in the country.

The campaign started at the weekend with Highlanders players releasing short video clips from their homes urging people to to stay at home and avoid unnecessary travel.

Highlanders indefinitely cancelled their training programme at the beginning of last week following strict restrictive measures introduced by the Government as part of efforts to combat the spread of Covid-19, which has since been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organisation.

Before cancelling their training programme, Bosso had initially insisted on not breaking camp and indicated that players would be collected from home by the club’s bus during which strict hygiene would be followed.

Players were to have their hands sanitised before boarding the bus, before training and after training. Everyone at the training ground, including the technical staff, was to wear a face mask to minimise risk of infection.

They were, however, forced to break camp after the Government banned all sporting and recreational activities and also placed a cap of 50 on all public gatherings.

Highlanders communications officer Ronald Moyo said their players would be releasing a minimum of four educative videos per-week, which they hoped would impact positively in the fight against the pandemic.

“We are a ‘community’ club whose existence cannot be confined to a geographical location. That’s why we are using our virtual spaces to target our followers with Covid-19 related messages. We are trying to make players understand that they are sub-brands of the club and in some cases they are brands in their own right,” said Moyo.

“If putting on a black and white stripe with a Highlanders badge on their hearts just for 90 minutes can draw the attention of thousands and thousands of people, that should be enough to confirm their social status. People are not only interested in what they do on the pitch, but what they say also. We, therefore, understand the impact they have in behavioural change and we want to utilise that.”

Going forward, Moyo hoped society in general gets to understand the players’ social position and fully utilise them.

As governments throughout the world enforce lockdowns and encourage their citizens to stay at home to prevent further spread of the virus, footballers the world over have been active in ensuring the awareness message reaches their fans and followers.

Local football clubs such as Bulawayo Chiefs, FC Platinum, Chicken Inn and Ngezi Platinum Stars have also been active on social media educating the public about the virus and giving prevention tips.

At least 735 000 people have been infected by the virus globally and about 35 000 have been killed by the pandemic, while more than 156 000 have recovered from the disease. — @innocentskizoe