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Raymond Jaravaza and Mthabisi Tshuma, Showbiz Correspondents
HE has been supporting Highlanders, the oldest professional football in the country his whole life and not a day goes by when he doesn’t mention the name Bosso in a football-related conversation.

Sibangilizwe Mthunzi says even his blood is black and white. His DNA has traces of his favourite team and if given a choice between life and death, he will die for Bosso.

Fashion and sports are the lifestyles of many ghettos, given a good day free from the Covid-19 pandemic.
Mthunzi owns anything that reads Highlanders from scarfs, tracksuits, caps, the club’s jersey, and anything in-between that has the name Highlanders imprinted on it.

Yesterday he woke up to the news that Bosso had launched branded canvas shoes, a milestone in the club’s quest to tap into its vast supporter base to reap financial rewards.

The world over, football teams are tapping into the fashion world and the financial rewards are jaw-dropping.

“I was so excited when I saw the canvas shoes in the press in the morning. They look exactly like ‘All-Star’ shoes, the ghetto’s favourite shoes that we have worn since time immemorial. When you talk ghetto, All-Star shoes are part of that conversation,” gushed the Mzilikazi-born 35-year-old.

He is quick to profess that he is not a fashion guru, but predicts that the Bosso branded canvas shoes will fly off the shelves.

“It’s a no-brainer, those shoes will fly off the shelves. Bosso is a big brand and anything that has the club’s name sells like hotcakes,” said Mthunzi.

If Cassper Nyovest can do it, why not Bosso? The hip-hop heavyweight and entrepreneur dropped his much-awaited sneaker in partnership with Drip Footwear recently and South Africa went crazy. The hip-hop star left his fans in a state of frenzy during a livestream of the launch on social media platforms and his YouTube channel giving them a first look at his original sneaker called the Root of Fame 990 that he launched with the footwear’s chief executive officer Lekau Sehoana.

The shoes come in two different black and white versions and are on sale at the Highlanders clubhouse and offices. More selling outlets will be announced with time.

Bosso partnered with Bulawayo-based Anzisha Marketing in the project in a move that will see Bosso get 20 percent from the sale of every pair retailing at US$25.

Highlanders are hoping to take their canvas shoes to dizzy heights. It’s possible, says another staunch supporter Farai Zimuto.

“Imagine 20 000 supporters wearing Bosso branded shoes at Barbourfields stadium, we are headed for good times.

The club needs the money so badly and we the supporters have the opportunity to support our team financially while wearing nice shoes at the same time. It’s a win, win situation,” opined Zimuto.

The club bosses are equally excited at the new venture that the club has undertaken.

Highlanders’ chief executive officer Nhlanhla Dube said the introduction of the shoes was aimed at reviving their revenue streams in the wake of the Covid-19 meltdown.

“We’ve been working on this project for a while. Our focus has been to leverage our brand whose value is on the strength of its history. What we’ve done in the past two years is to aggressively promote alliances with businesses and corporates in commerce so that we supply products and equipment to our fans and followers,” said Dube.

“While there’s no football, there’s still a club brand and sentiment. This is a Highlanders-branded shoe manufactured for Highlanders. With football not being played, you have to focus on the business side of things.

“This shoe is synonymous with our players and fans alike. The shoe has been in our culture. Bosso is a culture and we’re looking forward to seeing it do well in the market. We cannot mourn over our past similar projects, but we’ll seek to create more,” Dube said.