The Sunday Mail
Sports Reporter
DESPITE the tough times that continue to haunt domestic football in the post Covid-19 era, the ZIFA Northern Region have not taken the foot off the pedal in pursuit of corporate partners.
They are expected to unveil an eight-team tournament set to be launched in Harare this week.
It will also come just as the Sport and Recreation Commission gave ZIFA the greenlight for all lower leagues and academy football to resume.
Although activity in the Northern Region Division One has been halted for nearly two years, they managed to retain league sponsors, Ruyamuro Holdings.
It has emerged that chairman Martin Kweza and his executive have tied a deal with a Harare company, Axis Solutions, for a rare knockout competition for the country’s second tier league.
Kweza confirmed the coming in of a branded knock-out competition for their member clubs.
“I can confirm that we (ZIFA Northern Region) have partnered Axis Solutions to be our sponsors for an eight-team tournament, and they will be unveiled on Wednesday in the capital,” said Kweza.
Axis Solutions will become the latest in a string of corporates that have come on board to bankroll the league’s awards such as that of Coach of the Month, Player of the Year, Coach of the Year and Goalkeeper of the Month.
“As a league we are hugely excited and at the same time humbled by the continuous growing number of corporates who are paying attention to our efforts to develop football and bring back the much missing glamour.
“The third party endorsement is a huge boost which must be equally pursued by other corporates to trust the NRSL brand,” said Kweza.
Apart from honouring the winners of the tournament, the sponsorship deal will also come with individual accolades.
“The tournament will push for individual and team brilliance as it seeks to award both individual and team excellence.
“There will be individual awards for top goal scorer of the tournament and goalkeeper of the tournament. The biggest individual award will go to the player of the tournament, followed by the coach of the tournament,” said Kweza.
The Harare business executive said members had resolved at their recent annual meeting to prioritise the game’s development.
“This tournament is a commitment from the league in its efforts to enhance player development by increasing the number of competitions within the league as it reaches to all demographics and creates an environment with no boundaries,” Kweza said.
