ZESCO United Football Club Team Ya Ziko
Football has in recent years been transformed from a mere social activity into a billion-dollar industry. Long gone are the days when a club could operate on a sizeable budget and expect to be at the summit of the game.
Today, the game is dictated by those with superior budgets and a good management system to attract the best players the market could offer.
The financial growth in the sport has also given birth to various interest groups. Today clubs do not only operate under the watchful eye of their sponsors but also their soccer fans.
ZESCO United Football Club was established in 1974. The club has for the last 46-years turned its fortunes from underachievers into the country’s football powerhouse and the continents emerging soccer giant.
In the last two decades, the club has delivered an unprecedented 8 Super League titles and 6 Absa Cup titles owing to sound sponsorship from the parent company, Zesco Limited, and good management systems.
At continental level, ZESCO United has for the last two decades been the country’s most reliable representative in both the coveted CAF Champions League and CAF Confederations Cup.
This unparalleled success for the last two decades has also translated into growth in as far as the club’s supporters base is concerned.
Today, ZESCO United’s traditional colours are littered all over the 10 provinces of Zambia and beyond the country’s borders. This is perhaps a clear show of the club’s steady growth in size and following.
However, the growth of the club on and off the pitch has meant more scrutiny not only from the board but also from the team’s faithful.
On March 19th, 2020, ZESCO United Football Club and ZESCO United Football Club Supporters Club signed a two-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).
“Soccer fans are a major stakeholder of this great football club. They have also been a major part of our success over the years. It is our wish that this MoU between ZESCO United Football Club and ZESCO United Football Club Supporters Club will strengthen the already existing relationship between the club and the fans across the country.” : ZESCO United Football Club Chief Executive Officer, Richard Mulenga said at the signing ceremony.
The club CEO further hoped that the MoU will give the supporters body and their members a great opportunity to understand the club’s general operations.
“We hope that this agreement will lead to a steady flow of information between the two parties and potentially greater awareness among our fans on how this football club conducts its day to day operations,” Mulenga added.
ZESCO United Football Club Supporters Club Chairman, Ernest Phiri said the MoU signed between the club and fans is a significant development in the club’s history.
He said that the club’s supporters across the country have been yearning for a moment when they could have a formal relationship with the football club.
“This MoU is a mark of a new dawn in as far as our relationship with the club is concerned. ZESCO United Football Club is a big part of our lives as such we want to play a role in the development of the club,” Phiri said.
He further urged the club’s supporters across the country to channel all their grievances through the supporter’s body.
“This MoU gives us the fans a rare opportunity to formally interact with the club’s management. As such I wish to urge our members to use our body prudently in as far as the club’s operations are concerned,” he said.
ZESCO United’s decision to tie-knots with its fan base is a reflection of the club’s desire to give its faithful’s a rare opportunity to have a sneak pick into the day-to-day operations of the team. They have further been given a voice at the highest level of the club.
With the modern game vastly opened to the public through various digital media platforms, rumormongers have also thrived.
This aforementioned conundrum has made club faithful’s victims of unverified and mostly false reports about the club’s operations.
The partnership between ZESCO United Football Club and ZESCO United Supporters Club will go a long way in maintaining and sustaining a mutually beneficial relationship between the club and supporters.
Author: Desmond Katongo
