HIGHLANDERS FC fans have an emotional and fanatic attachment to their club that transcends the spiritual. There’s a saying that if a Bosso supporter tells you that “ngikuthanda njenge Highlander (I love you the way I love Highlanders),” you must know they are prepared to move Heaven and earth for you.
For the club’s staunch followers, Amahlolanyama simply comes first and everything else follows. There’s just something about the club that evokes the deepest emotions in followers. It is a culture, one can say, inherited and passed from generation to generation.
This is a team built on values, culture and tradition. Anything that seems to threaten the identity of the club is met with the most vociferous opposition from those that have given their souls to the club. Cut them and they will bleed black and white, the team’s iconic colours.
Imagine, therefore the consternation of Bosso faithful on seeing their team playing in a red and white kit!
A section of fans has come out guns blazing at the leadership after Bosso played their friendly match against Sheasham last weekend in red jerseys.
On the surface, it’s just an alternative kit, but a section of the fans have taken it as an insult on the foundation and very existence of the team.
They have not minced their words in questioning if the present club leadership still values the club’s identity and culture.
Supporters have flocked to social media, particularly Facebook to express their extreme annoyance at the unprecedented “catastrophe” of seeing the club in an “alien kit.”
Cephas Fumhanda said: “Sponsors must not alter the culture of the team. The team must not lose its identity and ego because of sponsorship. Culture and originality ignite the rivalry between teams and fans we enjoy. This type of changing colours will remove fans’ interest in following local soccer.”
Another fan, Senzani Salindo Phahla-Malinga, went straight to the point saying: “Highlanders must always have black and white as their home jersey then white as their away jersey. Look at how Orlando Pirates changed their jersey.”
Pete Flindy poured out his dissatisfaction: “Bosso in red and white. What rubbish. Our executive must not allow themselves to be arm twisted because of certain sponsorships.”
Qhubekani Maphenduka said: “Black and White guys, this is not good for our Bosso.”
“That is not the tradition of Bosso,” opined Lance Ndue Masuku.
Veteran football coach Cosmas Tsano Zulu, whose history with Highlanders is well decorated, disagrees with the fans, he says the wearing of a red kit for away games is actually a sign of the club going back to its roots.
“Highlanders used to wear red. Back in the day, that is the colour we used for away matches. I see no problem in wearing a red kit for away games because the club is going back to its roots. The new generation needs to know where the team came from and what it stands for.
“The red kit means we are going back to history that the new generation must find there. It is commendable that the club is using the red kit away from home,” said Zulu.
The colour red is not new in Highlanders history. When the club was formed as Lions they used to wear red and white with white shorts and stockings. Ndebele royals, Rhodes and Albert Khumalo formed Lions FC in 1926 and the name later changed to Matabeleland Highlanders FC before the “Matabeleland” was removed.
The black and white stripe which has become popular with Highlanders now represents the Amawaba regiment of King Lobengula Khumalo, the grandfather of Albert and Rhodes, the sons of Prince Njube.
Former Highlanders chief executive officer Nhlanhla Dube gives a brief history into Highlanders and the colour red.
“So, history tells us that the club at its formation as Lions actually used red as their colour. This changed in time with the adoption of the black and white stripe as a celebration to honour the lineage of the founders Albert and Rhodes Khumalo the sons of Njube himself the son of King Lobengula.
“The interspersed black and white on cow hides is called iwaba in isiNdebele hence a cow of that colour/pattern is called iwabakazi. Ndebele regiments used particular colours as identity on their shields et cetera. King Lobengula’s regiment was called Amawaba hence the place of their location (isihonqo) is still known as eMawabeni.
“Interestingly, the name change from Matabeleland Highlanders to just Highlanders is part of many changes that have happened over time. For instance the shield logo was adopted from Swaziland/eSwatini during the late Ndumiso Gumede’s reign around 1975/76 when the club toured the Kingdom, with the shield they also adopted the Kingdom’s ‘Siyinqaba’.
“What was added to the shield is simply a football. Those who have been there ahead of us tell us that for many years, an optional red kit was in use,” said Dube.
Wearing red away from home might actually give Highlanders an edge, if research by the University of Durham is to be believed. Russell Hill and Robert Barton found out that red seems to confer an advantage.
Veteran sports journalist Lovemore Dube says there is no other colour that resonates with Bosso besides black and white.
“Nsele Hlabangana was among the founders of this great club. In an interview with him back in 1997 he said at the onset of the foundation of Lions the team wore red. That however, changed in 1937 when the team changed its name to Matabeleland Highlanders. It is at that time that the colours changed to black and white.
“From that time any other colour for Highlanders which is not black and white looks untoward; there is no colour at Highlanders that brings a better appeal to Highlanders than black and white. Tradition and culture have to be observed. Fly-by-night people will see nothing amiss with the colour red but black and white is Highlanders and Highlanders is black and white,” said Dube.
Highlanders CEO Ronald Moyo said the red kit was registered as an optional jersey for last season. This year it is unlikely to be registered.
“The kit that the team has been wearing in its friendly matches was last season’s third optional kit. This year we are yet to register our kits but we are unlikely to have red as the third away jersey,” he said.
However, in an era where football teams change all of their jerseys every year purely for profit it is unsurprising. In any case, Bosso cannot wear their traditional Black and White stripe for every game, particularly away games where they need an alternative.
The world over, the colours on the main team’s jerseys is maintained because they are part of the team’s brand. Which is what Highlanders have always done with black and white colours – at home games, of course. – The Chronicle
