Highlanders striker Michelle Katsvairo has quit the club to join Botswana top side Township Rollers and has agreed to compensate the Bulawayo giants for breach of contract.
He only played 73 minutes of competitive football for the Bulawayo giants when Highlanders lost 2-0 to FC Platinum in the Castle Challenge Cup at Barbourfields Stadium in March before all football activities were suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Highlanders spokesperson Ronald Moyo yesterday confirmed Katsvairo’s move to the former Botswana champions, adding that the striker would compensate Bosso for breach of contract. However, figures have not been disclosed.
“When Katsvairo joined Highlanders, he signed a one-year contract. Effectively, he is only left with two months. He approached the club and there was a mutual agreement to terminate the arrangement. His contract was terminated and we agreed on compensation. We are not surprised to see him being unveiled in Botswana. It’s a development that Highlanders is aware of and we wish him all the best in Botswana,” Moyo said.
Katsvairo leaves Highlanders at a time the government has okayed the resumption of local football activities with a pro-posed mini-league under the bio-bubble concept. His move was also confirmed by Township Rollers on their Facebook page.
“Township Rollers is pleased to announce the signing of Zimbabwean forward Michelle Katsvairo, who joins the club from Zimbabwe Premier League giants Highlanders. In the past the experienced forward played for Kaizer Chiefs and Free State Stars in the South African PSL and earned senior caps with the Zimbabwean national team, the Warriors. We warmly welcome him to the Popa family,” Rollers said.
During the COVID-19 induced lockdowns, Highlanders has lost four players, Prince Dube sold to Tanzanian side Azam FC, Brian Banda to FC Platinum after expiry of his contract and Tinashe Makanda purportedly to Dynamos and Katsvairo is the latest.
In his eleven years of topflight football, Katsvairo has played for more than 10 clubs but has not stayed at one club for more than two years. He played for Black Mambas and Gunners between 2009 and 2012 before a move to FC Platinum, popularly known as the Moneybags back then in 2012.
He moved to Chicken Inn in 2015, won the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League title that year and at the peak of his career, he joined South Africa giants Kaizer Chiefs in 2016. However it was all not rosy for Katsvairo at Amakhosi who loaned him to Tanzanian side Singida in 2017, but he asked to be released before his loan spell expired.
On his return to South Africa, Kaizer Chiefs terminated his contract and he went to Botswana in 2018 where he played in a friendly match for Township Rollers before he decided to rush back home and joined Caps United.
Last year he went back to South Africa where he joined Free State Stars and after another unsuccessful stint he was back home this time at Ngezi Platinum Stars where he briefly stayed for six month before moving to High-landers at the beginning of the year.
Credit: Newsday
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