NORTHERN Region Division One Soccer League side Scottland owner Pedzisai “Scott” Sakupwanya has revealed plans to build a 15 000-seater stadium in Mabvuku for use by his team and the community.
Scottland are on the brink of claiming the sole ticket to the Premier Soccer League from their division and only need to win their last league match against Black Mambas tomorrow to achieve the feat.
They go into that match sitting at the top of the log with a two-point advantage over second-placed MWOS FC. And the club have big plans once they join the elite league.
Club chairman Tonderai Sakupwanya yesterday lifted the lid on Scott’s big plans for his club and sport in general in Mabvuku.
“We are hoping to win the title come Friday. And once that title is in the bag, we are planning on building a stadium in Mabvuku,” he said.
“We are planning to build a 15 000-seater football stadium. We are not only looking at football, we will have a multi-purpose sports facility where we will have basketball, volleyball, swimming, rugby and other sporting activities.
“This facility will be available for use by schools and clubs. We have signed a 30-year lease for Number One Ground in Mabvuku. Very soon, we will have the groundbreaking ceremony. We are going to revamp the whole area.”
Scott has been splashing money on his team and his players are the best paid in the country.
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In their intriguing title tussle with MWOS, which only lost top spot this week, Scottland players have been receiving huge winning bonuses, sometimes amounting to US$1 500 per player.
Scott’s business partner Wicknell Chivayo spoiled the players with vehicles after they won against Herentals at the weekend. The players have been promised US$10 000 each if they win promotion.
“For us, it was always about winning the title and getting promoted. We are almost there and God willing we should celebrate on Friday,” Tonderai said.
“After that, we will see. Right now, it’s too early to come up with major pronouncements. But we are looking at not just Zimbabwe, but Africa. We are looking at creating opportunities for the youths.”
The club has plans to establish a top football academy in Africa which can open the pathway to Europe for deserving players.
“We want to establish a sports academy for the youth. Our patron has always been about giving opportunities to the youth,” Tonderai said.
“If you look at our roaster, we have three or four players that had given up on themselves, but right now they have hope. They are back living a clean and decent life. Their children are in school.
“Without mentioning names, I think we have a few guys that were on drugs, but they have stopped and are in paying employment. Our patron wants to make sure that football in the country can be a good job.”
They believe that their success this season has hinged on huge investment that has been injected into the club.
“This season when we were sixth on the log, the patron predicted that we would finish at the top. This is because he put in resources. We brought in coaches from abroad to come in and help us.
“If we get into the Premier Soccer League, you can expect the same from us. Our patron is happy with the players that we have, but there could be a few signings here and there and we will be guided by the coaches.”
Plans are afoot for a trip to Europe for the players once they achieve their mission.
“We are exploring partnerships with other teams in Spain so that our players can go there and get exposed to different training methods. They will go there after the end of the season and learn how players that side train and conduct themselves off the pitch,” Tonderai said.
