Notwane chairperson targets Premier League return
Calistus Kolantsho | Wednesday February 15, 2017 16:14
Notwane are in fifth position on 18 points with 10 games left.
Chimidza took over the chairmanship from Anorld Somolekae this month. He told a media briefing yesterday at Notwane club house that their mandate is to return to the Premiership. He said returning to the elite league does not mean just going back, but knowing what to do once in the top flight.
Notwane were relegated from the Premier League two seasons back.
“We still believe that we can gain promotion as champions for this region. The gap between us and the log leaders is not massive. We should come up with a plan. We have established a technical committee that would come up with a strategy for our product, which is to play football. Not just to play football, but result-oriented football,” he said.
The new chairperson said he believes in his players and coach. Chimidza said they also intend to focus on their development structure. He said they have to consider what they have and how it can be improved to achieve their Premiership return dream.
He said the side is known as a club that produces players and they intend returning to that route.
“We want to introduce Under-10 up to the Under-17 10 teams. We want to have a fully fledged football academy. We also plan to have feeder teams where players prove themselves before they join the main team,” he said.
He said with that in place, they can sustain their stay in the Premiership where they would be competing to win the title not to fight relegation. Chimidza said all their plans need financial injection and called upon Notwane supporters to have an input by assisting the club.
The club public relations officer, Julius Baitumetse said negotiations with potential sponsors are at an advanced stage. He said they have tried to spread their wings and submit proposals to different organisations for technical sponsorship.
Baitumetse said they are hopeful that they would have netted a sponsor before the end of the season. The club has launched its website and Facebook page. However, Baitumetse said replacing Somolekae with Chimidza does not mean there was infighting, but that they were simply strengthening the committee.