Zimbabwe: Premier Soccer League Wait On Six Errant Clubs

By Munyaradzi Madzokere

The Premier Soccer League (PSL) has expressed dismay with clubs, who are yet to carry out as well as submit their Covid-19 test results, thus stalling progress on the resumption of domestic football.

Only 12 clubs had submitted their results going into the weekend in spite of the fact that the deadline was Monday last week.

Teams that are yet to comply with the Covid test requirements include Harare giants CAPS United, 2015 league champions Chicken Inn, Black Rhinos, Triangle, Yadah and Harare City.

Several teams managed to resume group training last week after submitting their test results.

"As of Friday, only 12 out of 18 teams had submitted their results and the rest had not. We are also not aware of the challenges they face, but there should be no excuses because everything was paid for," PSL CEO Kennedy Ndebele told Standardsport.

"All the clubs were supposed to submit test results by Monday November 9. We hope that by tomorrow (today) all clubs will have submitted so that we can forward the results to the emergency committee, who will then decide on the way forward," Ndebele added.

Local football has been in the doldrums since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic in March this year.

But plans are in motion to resume football by way of a mini tournament, following a bio bubble concept, which is tentatively scheduled for December.

"We are happy with the clubs that have been proactive in this endeavour and at the same time disappointed with the clubs that have not been cooperative. We shall take measures to ensure that in future everyone will comply with directives.

"This phase is very important because we are already looking to also prepare for next year's competition. It helps us understand the procedures we need to undertake for the future," Ndebele added.

Ndebele described the resumption of domestic football as critical in light of the national team's participation at the CHAN finals in January and February next year.

"It's also important because of the country's participation at the CHAN finals. We are happy that training has resumed and by December players will be in good shape. The coach will then have something to choose from for the CHAN finals," he said.

Ndebele said they are in the process of consulting with stakeholders on how to broadcast matches should the competition resume since fans are not allowed into the stadium.

Clubs that have submitted Covid-19 test results:

Herentals, FC Platinum, Highlanders, Ngezi Platinum, ZPC Kariba, Whawha, Tenax, Dynamos, Bulawayo City, Manica Diamonds, Bulawayo Chiefs, Cranborne Bullets.

This article originally appeared on Zimbabwe Standard

Photo: New Zimbabwe