The Sunday Mail
Sports Reporter
IT’S now three weeks after the four regions that control Division One football met in Kwekwe to pave way for resumption of the lower league, and yet the wait is still on.
The Eastern, Central, Northern and Southern regions converged in the Midlands on April 17 and resolved to start their games in June.
This meant the pre-season, which requires at least six to eight weeks, should have been in full throttle by now.
But, Division One clubs are yet to be given the green light to start training by the Sports and Recreation Commission (SRC).
The inordinate delay has piled misery on lower league players, most of whom are now living like paupers because their clubs — a good number of which are individually owned — cannot afford to continue paying inactive staff. Some of the sponsors are threatening to pull out as they are not getting a return on investment because of the hiatus.
The Northern Region has been pushing for a return to action and yesterday the chairperson, Martin Kweza, made a passionate plea to Government and the SRC.
He said all the four regions are ready to resume action under Covid-19 prevention protocols and guidelines outlined by the regulator.
“Our plea to the SRC and Government is for us to get the approval to start our leagues. We have protocols in place to deal with Covid-19.
“I do not see why the lower leagues should not play. The Premier Soccer League, which has been given the greenlight, demotes (teams) to our league and we promote teams to them.
“So, naturally, the approval to start should have been a blanket one,” Kweza said.
His plea came as a meeting between the concerned parties was also inexplicably shelved on Friday.
However, top-flight action returns on Saturday with a cup competition that is expected to run for eight weeks before the commencement of the Premiership championship marathon on July 17. “Our concern is that clubs are suffering; they are paying players who are not active. Some clubs are not even paying and the players are living like paupers.
“We also risk losing our sponsors. We have agreed in principle with our traditional sponsors but we have been holding onto the launch because of the uncertainty.”
The seasoned administrator said time is slowly running out. “We want football to start because time is of the essence. Usually our season runs between March and December, meaning that if we are to start in July, we will have a congested fixture so that we finish before the rains.
“Our grounds are not usable during the rainy season because of the poor drainage system, and this is why we are not keen to have games played during that period,” he said.
ZIFA communications and competitions manager Xolisani Gwesela said the delay had been occasioned by the guideline which they had received from the SRC, which outlined a phased return to action.
“One of the conditions from the SRC was that the Premier Soccer League should start first then the adherence to Covid-19 protocols will determine the resumption of football downstream,” said Gwesela.
