Highlanders FC, Dynamos FC and Caps United FC – Zimbabwe’s three biggest premier league clubs – have all embraced the extension of the national lockdown by President Emmerson Mnangagwa by a further two weeks to May 3.
Bosso chief executive, Nhlanhla Dube, told The Herald that his club supports the stance, which it considers a noble one. He said:
The extension of the national lockdown was inevitable given the spiralling numbers of new infections from the novel coronavirus.
As a football club, we are fully supportive of the stance, which is a noble one.
DeMbare chief executive, Jonathan Mashingaidze, said the Glamour Boys are also fully behind the extension. He said:
This is not something to be taken for granted. We are fully behind the extension. Football is a beautiful game but it ceases to be beautiful if it was to be played amid this pandemic.
This is a good decision taken by the authorities. If we were to train, where would we be training without putting ourselves and members of the public at risk?
On his part, Makepekepe vice-president, Nhamo Tutisani, said football finds itself in a delicate situation and the health of stakeholders take preeminence. He said:
It is all about staying healthy and, for that matter, we can only applaud the move made by the authorities.
… In as much as we would want to be playing football, we also have to acknowledge that football is played by healthy staff, and administered by equally healthy personnel.