The Sunday Mail
The Art of Sport
Arthur Choga
IN 1993, teams in the top league played the first season of the National Premier Soccer League. The clubs had voted, in 1992, to form a breakaway league that would not be directly run by the Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA).
The inaugural league was won by Highlanders. Of great interest to this article was the spread of teams in the league.
There were two Bulawayo teams (Highlanders and Zimbabwe Saints), two Chitungwiza teams (Darryn T and Fire Batteries), five Harare teams (CAPS United, Dynamos, Black Rhinos, Black Aces, Black Mambas. However, Rhinos played several of their matches at Marondera’s Rudhaka Stadium before falling out with the locals).
There was a team each from Gweru (Chapungu), Mhangura (Mhangura), Hwange (Wankie), Mutare (Tanganda), Zvishavane (Shu Shine) and Redcliff (Ziscosteel).
Every team based in Harare and Bulawayo, as well as all those from outside the major cities, held their home games in their respective hometowns.
The clubs had an identity and the locals loved them wholeheartedly.
Next season, the league will feature teams from Ngezi, Mutare, Mandava, Hwange, Chiredzi, Kariba and Shamva, with three clubs from Bulawayo and four from Harare.
Three new teams are coming into the top-flight league, now called the Premier Soccer League (PSL).
These are Arenel Movers (Bulawayo), Bikita FC (Bikita) and Chegutu Pirates (Chegutu). These are all first time PSL entrants. In the case of Bikita and Chegutu, the clubs come into the league on the back of passionate home support that has captured the imagination of social media, especially the Chegutu Pirates fans.
However, if some of the images that have circulated are anything to go by, then Chegutu will not be hosting any PSL games.
The state of their ground means the men and women in the homologation team will not be interested.
Homologation (from the Greek word “homologeo”, “to agree”) is the granting of approval by an official authority. This may be a court of law, a government department or an academic or professional body, any of which would normally work with a set of rules or standards to determine whether such approval should be given.
There is a team that looks at football stadiums in the country and decides whether these grounds are fit to host PSL games.
This team is from ZIFA.
I believe to make the top-flight league truly national, teams should be able to play in their preferred hometown.
The disaster from the previous season, in which Harare clubs marched in unison to Barbourfields in Bulawayo to establish a home there, ought never to happen again.
I believe the PSL and ZIFA should engage every local authority and corporate organisation (mines, plantations, financial institutions and others) who own grounds and take them all through the requirements of the homologation process.
That way, there are no expressions of surprise and no last-minute digging and bricklaying as the season approaches.
Once armed with the correct information, those interested can make a commitment to provide the resources for the upgrades required for the approval to be granted.
To stop people from expressing shock and disbelief further, a compliance mechanism like local authority building inspectors would make sure stages are finished before proceeding to the next.
It is feasible to build a stadium from the ground up. This has been amply demonstrated by Walter Magaya’s recent Heart Stadium construction.
It also shows that it is possible to restore an existing stadium.
Imagine the possibilities — hardware suppliers in Chegutu teaming up to restore or build proper changing rooms and shower facilities in exchange for billboard space around the ground!
Local companies that produce precast walls can team up to put up a perimeter wall in return for branding rights.
Alternatively, an agreement could be reached to offer several access cards for the partners to attend the matches if they are football fans.
The same arrangement could be extended to borehole drilling firms to ensure sufficient water for the ground. Solar-powered floodlight suppliers, landscapers and lawn suppliers, among others, can also contribute.
The business opportunities that come with having a stadium in your own hometown are too numerous to miss.
Once a proper ground is established, it does not have to be limited to football. Music shows, arts festivals, rugby and hockey can also get a look in.
It starts with a coming together of minds.
What needs to be done? Can it be done? Will it be done?
Then let it be done.
Where there is sufficient willpower and a clear drive, the community can come together and make it happen.
The earning power of a Danny Bismark Stadium, so conveniently located, yet so frighteningly neglected, brings tears to the eyes and sullies the memory of great Arcadia United sides.
Rio Tinto and Eiffel Flats (sowed from the same seed) used to play their home games at the delightfully named Cam and Motor Stadium and Rimuka Stadium.
Sport must be a priority area for local authorities because it has the potential to become a key revenue earner.
With detailed partnerships and a commitment and guidance on homologation, as a starting point, the future of a truly national PSL is a reality.
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