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Lovemore Dube Senior Sports Reporter
FORMER Highlanders FC striker and assistant coach Cosmas Zulu said hooliganism at stadia can be dealt with through engagement. Zulu who has held several positions at the club said he was prepared to lead the campaign against violence.

“As a former player and coach I can’t sit back and allow this to continue. This is the time to stand up and act and I want the club to allow me to spearhead the campaign. It is my responsibility like everyone else to act on this issue,” said Zulu.

The veteran coach said most of the troubleshooters could be found at Egodini.

“These are young boys, it’s not so many of them and as a father I feel we need to help them so that they appreciate the consequences of hooliganism.

“My plan is to go and engage them at Egodini. I sold my idea to Highlanders at the annual general meeting. I’ll encourage them to buy membership cards,” said Zulu.

He said clubs were losing revenue because of the fans’ irresponsible behaviour. For his efforts Zulu said he does not want any payment.

“I’m what I’m because of Highlanders. It’s my way of giving back to the club and when someone like me takes a stand people are bound to listen,” said the coach.

He challenged football leaders to avoid making inflammatory statements as they at times did not help the fight against hooliganism. He was referring to statements attributed to Dynamos legend Moses Chunga last week where he blamed Ndumiso Gumede and Benedict Moyo for the violence at Barbourfields Stadium in a match which involved Highlanders and Caps United.

There were missile throwing instances during the game and invasion of the pitch as fans ran for cover when it started raining before kick off. The fans ran back to their usual sitting places when it stopped raining.

At the end of the match, won 2-1 by Caps United, the visiting team’s supporters invaded the pitch to celebrate their win.

Highlanders chairman Peter Dube said the club was always open to ideas that boost membership and promote peace at all stadia.

He said the club had already embarked on a membership drive and recently they were in Hwange, Lupane and Victoria Falls.

Contributing to the debate on violence, Sunungurayi Bhiza, a former Zimbabwe Saints fringe player in the late 1980s said fans must uphold good sportsmanship.

“Football is a sport, a source of entertainment and work, there’s no room for violent conduct within stadia and outside,” said Bhiza.

He said it was about time police and clubs planted cameras at strategic points to weed out bad elements within the crowd.

“We should use technology now to weed out hooligans. Clubs and police should employ cameras at strategic points so that the fight against hooligans is won.

“It’s now time for action. So many people have been injured and many are staying away from the game because of violence at out stadiums. This isn’t a Bulawayo problem but happens all over, so let us all fight it. It needs sober reflection,” said Bhiza, a Bulawayo businessman who is into chemicals.

Last week and at the weekend the PSL condemned violence at matches which has been witnessed in both Bulawayo and Harare.

Among a raft of measures the PSL is mooting taking to punish violent fans is deducting points from clubs whose fans engage in violence or suspending clubs from competitions.

Highlanders last week organised a meeting with police and officials from the Bulawayo City Council with a view to finding ways of curbing hooliganism.

Drunkenness has been blamed for some fans’ behaviour and vendors have been accused of smuggling alcoholic beverages into stadia which they then sell to fans.

Lack of thorough searches at the turnstiles has also seen hooligans coming in with weapons such as knobkerries and catapults.