Former Highlanders Football Club coach Hendrikus Pieter de Jongh has assumed the brand ambassadorial role for the club in his native Netherlands.
The Dutchman on Monday posted on Twitter advertising Highlanders replica jerseys in Holland using the club’s kit sponsors On the Ball (OTB) Looks’ website. De Jongh tweeted:
For my wonderful fans from Holland, there is good news. My former club Highlanders has a website (https://t.co/gsBUHeqw7f) where you can buy shirts.
The club is also giving a number of shirts to The Champ to give away. Possibly signed by myself.
The replica jerseys cost US$35 in sportswear shops while on the OTB Looks website they are priced at R550.
Highlanders spokesperson Ronald Moyo said the club appreciates De Jongh’s gesture but they are yet to speak to its technical partners OTB Looks on the matter. Moyo said:
At Highlanders, our attitude is whoever comes at any given point and contributes to the objectives of the club even if they leave, remain an extension of the club’s network.
It is against this background that we appreciate De Jongh’s voluntary service to be the club’s brand ambassador in the Netherlands.
We are actually working on a plan to see how best we can assist him (De Jongh) to profile the brand Highlanders during his media interviews on radio and elsewhere in Holland.
However, we are yet to discuss this with our technical partners, but we are in conversation with De Jongh.
The Dutch coach had a short stint a Highlanders before he crossed the floor to join Premier Soccer League champions FC Platinum.
He joined Highlanders in September 2019 and won the Chibuku Super Cup but left Bosso in January 2020 to join the Zvishavane-based club after failing to resist the lure of CAF Champions League football.
De Jongh was sacked by the platinum miners 11 months later after the Confederation of African Football refused to give him a waiver to coach in the Champions League without the required coaching badges.