By Staff Writer
Nchanga Ranges Football Club Vice President Shapi Shachinda says the club has resumed ‘The Project Return’ in a pursuit to go back to the FAZ Supper Division.
Shachinda said the journey will not be easy because competition in the FAZ National Division One League is intense.
He said the Brave Rangers ExCo is backing the technical bench and players to deliver results that will take the team back to the elite division.
Shachinda said the club President Patson Nyirenda is steering the Club in the right direction and he has the ExCo’s full support.
“We are sacrificing quite a lot (and those close to the stadium will attest to this) in order to ensure Nchanga Rangers becomes a force to reckon with in Zambian, if not African football,” he said.
He said the current economic conditions in a Covid-19 ravaged global economy has made it extremely difficult for sponsors to continue promoting the development of football without disruptions and gaps.
Shachinda said the club sponsor has stood tall in making sure to get the best for the team.
He said the ExCo will introduce some stringent rules for entry into the Nchanga Stadium simply because every kwacha counts towards managing the daily operations of the Club.
“In order to improve our financial muscle, we need to move from a Club that receives almost nothing from gate takings to one that can also count on gate charges to run the Club. We will be asking our supporters in whatever form – internal (KCM) or external (Non-KCM) to make some meaningful contribution to the Club by simply paying for entry into the Nchanga Stadium as required.
“The Club needs to start recouping huge amounts of money that have been invested in rebuilding the team and infrastructure upgrades to fix what was a completely broken Club,” he said
Shachinda said the lessons in Mufulira last week were that despite the harsh economic realities, Mufulira Wanderers supporters are willing to pay K150 for VIP, K50 Grand Stand, K10 or K15 Open wings and still get a very good turnout in the FAZ Division One National League.
He said restricting free entry is the way that will help the club to raise money for the team for little bills, like spending K4,000 on water for players during training every 14 days.
