The Sunday News
Ngqwele Dube,Sports Correspondent
HIGHLANDERS FC members will get to deliberate on the proposed changes at the club’s mid-year annual general meeting scheduled for next month.
Chief executive officer, Nhlanhla Dube said the committee tasked with leading the process had wrapped up its work and the draft document will now be presented to the executive and board for deliberations before it is availed to members.
The club decided to embark on a restructuring exercise in order to fulfill dictates of Fifa Club Licensing Regulations.
There was hope the club would also take the opportunity to craft a new charter that would solve some of the club financial problems through a more commercially friendly constitution.
The club’s EGM is scheduled for the first weekend of July.
Dube said it would be premature to release the proposed changes as they are yet to be finalised.
He said most of the changes have been informed by the need to meet Fifa regulations but proposals can also address the club’s aspirations.
Dube said depending on the debate and concerns made during the EGM, the constitution maybe adopted on the day or another day could be set aside for the final adoption of the charter.
“I think we should not put the cart before the horse, what will determine when it is adopted is how satisfied the members will be with the contents of the documents. There are obviously other areas that we cannot temper with because they are meant to align with Fifa requirements although others can be altered.
“The meeting can be structured like a workshop with members grouped into various thematic areas with each section then presenting afterwards, that way I think we can get deep debate with members easily making their input,” he said.
Among the proposed changes will see a new management structure likely to result in the collapse of the board of directors, beefing up the secretariat, changes in membership structure, with a flexible membership structure that caters for various levels being adopted.
There were proposals to have the club’s juniors turned into a fully-fledged academy with a percentage of the shares being sold to private investors.
An idea to turn the club into a company and offer shares was rejected by members.
Bosso member, Boniface Ndlovu said the club should not be lost to the need for a visionary charter that will speak to the club’s goals.
He said it would be folly to just take the amendments as a move to fulfill Fifa objectives saying more changes should come from within the Bosso family.
“We cannot deny the fact our constitution needs changes without having to be prodded by Fifa. Times are changing and we had structural problems that needed solving through amending the constitution, now the chance has presented itself.
“Our membership structure needs amending no doubt, we also need to see how we can harness and exploit our brand fully to be able to realise commercial success. Our juniors were a big success but we have to ask ourselves where are we failing now?” said Ndlovu. He also said there was need to recognise that Highlanders was more than just a football club but is a sporting institution and there had to be a way to recognise the other sport codes in the constitution.
“We have a volleyball team, netball team, darts team and recently the revived rugby team but none of them have formal recognition within the Bosso constitution although they are operating, I think it is important we crystalise the relationship in the constitution to ensure the future success of those teams and the expansion into more sporting codes,” said Ndlovu.
Fifa Club Licensing Regulations have set standards relating to the governance structure of clubs, infrastructure, junior development and financial accountability.
Some of the main objectives of the rules include safeguarding the credibility and integrity of club competitions, improving the level of professionalism, promoting transparency in finances, ownership and control of clubs.
