HWANGE football club could continue living in the shadow of other mining company-backed Premiership teams, if their parent company’s recent unaudited financial results are anything to by.

The other teams with direct or indirect links with mining companies have been forces to reckon with in terms of signing some of the best players and performance in the field of play.

It is highly unlikely the club, which is not the co-business, will receive a budget that matches their rivals at a time the coal mining company is trying to turn around its fortunes from a loss making position.

It will take a lot more for them to match the likes of How Mine, Ngezi Platinum and FC Platinum, clubs that have bigger budgets.

Already the club is battling to pay players outstanding salaries and sign on fees as revealed by The Herald on Wednesday.

“The company’s performance over the last six months fell short of budgetary targets due to low production levels that were attributable to the working capital constraints…,” said the chairman Winston Chitando in his report.

He was presenting the “unaudited condensed financial results of Hwange Colliery Company Limited” for half year ended June 30 this year.

This is against the background that teams without any company backing have been finding the going tough in the past years – with most of them relegated – giving rise to a new class of teams backed by corporates.

The mining company-backed teams in particular are threatening to dominate the league at the moment.

Hwange, a club that occupy an important part of the Hwange community and have been around for a while, must think outside the box if they are to challenge the best.

The parent company projections are that they will only be able to turn around their operations from a gross loss situation to a profit situation in 2017.

Cost reduction initiatives which have been implemented, the company says, will stay.
 
“… Whilst the half year results are disappointing, the continued support the company and board is getting, should result in a significant turnaround in 2017, mainly centered on the foregoing outline.”

While Hwange Company has its own cost-cutting measures, of late the football club has been focusing on unearthing their own talented footballers to match some of the big spenders in the Premiership.

Such a policy has seen them benefit from Warriors striker Evans Rusike who was eventually sold to Maritzburg United and later Erick Chipeta to Chippa United. Chipeta has since moved to Ajax Cape Town. It is difficult for a club among the bottom eight to do that.

This year they have another gem in striker Gift Mbweti but that focus on unearthing new talent has however not given them enough power to be a top four team.

As teams turn focus to week 26 action this weekend, Hwange occupy the second safe position from the bottom and they will need to win at least two games from the last five to be safe from relegation.

On Sunday they face fallen giants Dynamos at Rufaro.