WITH just over a month before the 2016 Castle Lager Premier Soccer League season starts, Hwange Football Club is scrambling around trying to assemble a decent squad.
BY FORTUNE MBELE
Coach Nation Dube yesterday said he was running around trying to get players from Division One clubs in the coal mining town so that he can come up with a competitive side after the club was dumped by some of its better players.
“Basically, I need 10 or 11 players and we will promote players from our Under-20 side. I am trying to work on getting players from Makomo and ZPC Hwange,” Dube said.
“We don’t want to call it a crisis as such as this is giving our juniors a chance. I only have a few senior players from last year’s squad. We will have to do with what we have. We will try to patch up with players from around. It was going to be a crisis if it was mid-season and we had players leaving the club and with most contracted to their clubs.”
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Skipper Rodwell Chinyengetere joined FC Platinum, while goalkeeper Takabva Mawaya is now at ZPC Kariba.
Nkosana Siwela has been trying his luck with Bulawayo sides Highlanders and Bulawayo City, with Dube saying they have not heard from Munyaradzi Mungadze and Maqhawe Mpofu.
“We don’t know where Maqhawe (Mpofu) is and Munyaradzi Mungadze has not communicated.”
Some of the players from last season were disgruntled with the club struggling to pay the players’ outstanding winning bonuses amounting to $2 500 per player.
Some senior players have remained loyal to the club, with Gerald Ndlovu, David Boriwondo, Farai Vimisai, Tonisani Sibelo, Gilbert Zulu and Newman Sianchali among those still at the club and attending to pre-season preparations.