Scottland Football Club has received a US$1 million donation from IMC Communications, an organisation fronted by Wicknell Chivayo.
The donation was announced on Friday night, just one day after the club secured a US$1.5 million annual sponsorship from Sakunda Holdings, owned by Kuda Tagwirei.
Scottland is owned by ZANU PF Member of Parliament, Pedzai Sakupwanya, who represents Mabvuku-Tafara in the National Assembly.
At the presentation of the US$1 million donation, Ecobank senior executive Mike Dengwane, who represented Chivayo, said the funds would assist the club in the construction of a new stadium. Said Dengwane:
Your network is your net worth if I can say. I congratulate you Sakupwanya for receiving this massive boost.
The US$1 million is for the team and also helping in the construction of the Mabvuku Stadium which you have undertaken to do.
We know the stadium will not be used by Scottland only. It is for the whole community and the whole catchment area of Mabvuku including Tafara, Ruwa, ZIMRE Park, Eastview, Epworth and Msasa.
We wish you all the best in the league and I can assure you that this sponsorship is not a once-off thing.
We will continue to chip in and make sure you achieve whatever you have set out to achieve.
Scottland chairman Tonderai Sakupwanya thanked Chivayo for the gesture. He said:
We are happy to be the torch-bearers trying to be the game-changers in the circles.
This means a great deal because as you know Scottland are not just embarking on success only in the field of play but we also want success off the field.
And when I say that, we are looking at the stadium in Mabvuku, we are looking at programmes that help the youths.
So we would like to thank Sir Wicknell Chivayo for his generosity.
Scottland is the third team in the Premier Soccer League owned by a sitting ZANU PF MP. The other two are CAPS United, owned by Farai Jere, and Herentals, owned by Innocent Benza.
However, the rise of both Sakupwanya and Scottland has been surrounded by controversy. Sakupwanya was elected unopposed in a by-election after the incumbent MP was recalled and later barred from contesting just hours before the polls opened.
Scottland’s journey has also been marred by a disputed decision in the Northern Region Soccer League.
The league’s boardroom ruling, which was later ratified by the ZIFA Disciplinary Committee, declared Scottland as champions after Karoi United contested the result of their abandoned match.
The match, which was tied 1-1 when the referee bizarrely called off the match, was controversially awarded to Scottland with a 3-0 scoreline.
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