Leyburn Sports invade Zim football

Sport
BY MUNYARADZI MADZOKERE BARELY three weeks ago, England-based sportswear firm Leyburn Sports captured their second Castle Lager Premier Soccer League kit deal with Mutare side Manica Diamonds.

BY MUNYARADZI MADZOKERE

BARELY three weeks ago, England-based sportswear firm Leyburn Sports captured their second Castle Lager Premier Soccer League kit deal with Mutare side Manica Diamonds.

Established in 2017, Leyburn Sports was behind Bulawayo Chiefs’ unique and daringly designed jersey for the 2019 league season, a partnership that undoubtedly furthered their name in Zimbabwe.

Leyburn Sports seems to be spreading its tentacles in Zimbabwean football as they have also signed deals with two Southern Region Division One sides Mosi Rovers and Filabusi United.

The company, which prides itself as the go-to kit suppliers for underdogs, has Somalia in its books on the international stage.

And after falling in love with Zimbabwe since they started to work with CONIFA affiliate Matabeleland national team in 2018, Leyburn Sports are targeting more clubs.

“We currently have four teams officially signed on for the new season, but don’t be surprised to see some other additions by the end of this year. We currently have Bulawayo Chiefs and Manica Diamonds in the Premier League as well as Mosi Rovers and Filabusi United in the Division One section,” Leyburn Sports founder Ross Quayle told The Sports Hub from his UK base.

Quayle recalls how, by chance, he established links in Zimbabwe a couple of years back.

“The links into Zimbabwe were never planned and a lot of it was a lucky path. In the initial stages of Leyburn, there wasn’t any sense of target geographically. I worked on the basis that any club or nation that is maybe overlooked or lacking a sense of identity in their kits — then that’s who we want to work with,” Quayle said.

“I had known about an organisation called CONIFA (an organisation for non-Fifa affiliated teams and nations) and they seemed a perfect fit. The general-secretary of CONIFA at the time, Sascha Duerkop, was integral to our first team signing and has been very supportive since.

“After a couple of meetings via Skype, I was introduced to Matabeleland — who were newly formed and, of course, looking for a kit. They were very open to any design and that was the beginning of the affiliation with Zimbabwean teams.

“I think Leyburn was lucky in the sense that we came on the scene around the same time Zimbabwean teams were taking to, and engaging on Twitter — none more so than our next team partner, Bulawayo Chiefs. Chiefs had a lot of potential – a growing fan base, a clear character online and an underdog mentality that we loved. Only thing missing was the kits to fit the personality,” he said.

In February last year, Leyburn Sports announced a partnership with the Zimbabwe Homeless World Cup team which represented the country in Cardiff, Wales.

They took advantage of the fact that the Zimbabwe team had been disappointed by the previous kit sponsor when they participated at the 2018 Homeless World Cup in Mexico.

“Working on the Zimbabwean projects has always been exciting. I feel Zimbabwean teams, and Zimbabweans in general, have really embraced Leyburn Sports and what we are trying to accomplish. Every time we have been approached by a team in Zimbabwe we have been allowed to create something unique and completely representative of the team’s heritage — which is always a big plus when designing a kit from scratch.

“Hopefully, we will be able to continue our relationship with Zimbabwean teams. We believe that the clubs have a lot of potential both in Zimbabwe and hopefully further afield. We want to be able to bring intriguing designs and colours to the forefront of kit supply,” Quayle said.