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Innocent Kurira, [email protected] 

HIGHLANDERS chairman, Kenneth Mhlophe says the next six months are going to be critical in the re-alignment of the club to ethical practice, accountability and compliance. 

During the club’s Extraordinary General Meeting held at the weekend, Bosso auditors, Bakertilly, issued a disclaimer opinion concerning the club’s financial statements saying the team’s management could not avail sufficient and appropriate evidence to substantiate the opening balances carried forward to the 2023 financial year.

Mhlophe, who took over the reins from Jonhfat Sibanda in February, says the task now is to ensure they apply the recommendations from the audit report.

“We will try to work on audit recommendations to bring our club to good standing. The next six months are going to be critical in the re-alignment of the club to ethical practice, accountability and compliance with recommendations made by the auditors.

“All policy gaps will be filled and compliance to set policies enforced. On the players’ front, negotiations with players whose contracts are expiring at the end of 2024, will commence in the coming weeks. 

“Sponsorship negotiations will be opened with existing sponsors with a view of securing future relationships,” Mhlophe added.

Mhlophe also paid tribute to several club sponsors.

“Our sponsors are doing a great job. Sponsorship is the major income driver at Highlanders, contributing 78 percent to the overall income. This is due to dwindling and or non-existent supporting income streams for the club. This is tantamount to over-reliance on sponsorship. While gate takings are at 16 percent of total club revenue, they have come down in real terms to as low as US$4000 for some matches.

“While Africa standards are at 10 percent contribution from MatchDay revenues (which includes gate takings), this needs to be as high as 30 percent of total income because broadcast rights (40 percent) are non-existent in our PSL, merchandise is contributing a paltry one percent where the Africa standard is 10 percent,” said Mhlophe.

He says there is a need to increase the number of people who attend matches at Barbourfields Stadium.

“Highlanders has lagged behind in this revenue stream mostly because of over-reliance on sponsorship even for the acquisition of replica jerseys, which up to this point the club is not selling. There’s an urgent need for an entrepreneurial shift in this critical area. As a way forward for the club, under prevailing circumstances, the need to grow alternative income streams and reduce over-reliance on sponsors, in the short term, is critical. The need to bring in more people into the Stadium, create initiatives such as selling merchandise, etc to grow our matchday inflows to 30 percent of total club income cannot be over-emphasised,” said Mhlophe. — @innocentskizoe.