The Sunday Mail
Langton Nyakwenda
Sports Reporter
EVEN after Whawha’s late entry into the Premier Soccer League (PSL), the top-flight body is still in a pickle as its board of governors would have preferred a 16-team competition.
Newly promoted Whawha processed the $208 000 affiliation fees last Friday and will be formally admitted into the league once the money reflects in the PSL account.
It means the number of PSL teams is now 18, especially following Herentals’ appeal against expulsion for taking football matters to court, which provisionally sets aside the PSL Disciplinary Committee’s March 24 decision.
Whawha and Tenax — both owned by the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services — twice failed to meet the PSL’s deadline for affiliation fees. Some of the PSL’s board of governors are questioning how these two clubs would be able to sustain the marathon 18-team league where there will be a lot of travelling across the country. Both clubs had not paid affiliation fees by the time the PSL held its annual meeting on March 6. They were subsequently given until March 13 to pay their obligations.
Again, they failed to meet the new deadline, which led to their expulsion. But the PSL, which relented to incessant pleadings, then gave the clubs until Friday to make the payments. Tenax finally made the full payment a day before the deadline, with Whawha processing the money on deadline day. PSL communications and media liaison officer Kudzai Bare confirmed the latest development yesterday.
“We received proof of payment documents from Whawha yesterday (Friday). We will make a statement once the money reflects in the PSL account,” Bare said.
Before Whawha’s late entry, the PSL had been left with 17 teams, sparking some jostling over which club would be picked to replace them.
Central Region chairperson Stanley Chapeta claimed that they had the mandate to choose Whawha’s replacement, which ordinarily would have been Sheasham, who finished second in their division.
However, in terms of club licensing guidelines, it is the prerogative of the PSL to determine the composition of the league.
Governors had resolved at their recent AGM to recall Chapungu, who finished 15th last term. It also emerged that following an amendment to the ZIFA constitution at the association’s AGM in May 2019, the PSL, just like all the other affiliate leagues, should be a member of ZIFA.
This was in addition to the earlier resolution to grant all PSL clubs voting powers at the assembly in recognition of their status as the elite league. “A motion to realign ZIFA affiliates was passed, which made all affiliate leagues members of ZIFA, and this includes the PSL, and the constitution has since been amended to reflect that.
“The decision to grant individual clubs a vote each, as opposed to the previous set-up where only the six executive committee members voted was in recognition of the fact that they are the elite teams in the country,’’ said a ZIFA councillor.
Although domestic football might be in limbo owing to the coronavirus pandemic, the issue of the size of the PSL looks set to dominate discussion in the corridors of power.
This is because the PSL’s board of governors contend they have the sole right to determine the composition of the league, as dictated by their statues and the CAF Club Licensing requirements. “The board of governors have the rights in the statutes. Yes, they can determine the composition of the PSL.
“The interesting thing is everyone is paying attention to the PSL when there is no fuss about the regions which determine their own composition. They (Regions) can even proceed with odd numbers and some even bring teams from nowhere.
“But, when it comes to the PSL, everyone wants to be involved,” questioned one PSL governor. Another governor was worried that Tenax and Whawha would not have the capacity to last the distance given their struggles to raise affiliation fees.
“We do not know why the ZPSC needs to concentrate on two teams when they could have channelled all their resources on one team. “It is also not clear if these two teams will last the marathon in an 18-team league where there is a lot of travelling and other costs,” said the governor, who elected to remain anonymous.
The PSL could have another puzzle if Herentals’ appeal is unsuccessful as they would be left with a nightmarish odd number of teams.
How the 18th team will be picked could be a hassle given the bickering within the football corridors.
