admin
Ricky Zililo Sports Reporter
PREMIER Soccer League cashiers were briefly detained by the Bulawayo City Council officials after Saturday’s Mbada Diamonds Cup final between Highlanders and How Mine at Barbourfields Stadium. The local authority was demanding more money for availing the facility.While multitudes of Highlanders fans were celebrating their club’s infamous victory on the terraces and soccer pitch over city rivals How Mine whom they beat 3-0, a stand-off was ensuing between council officials and PSL cashiers.
According to information provided by the PSL, 20,542 people paid their way into the stadium generating a gross revenue of $30,610. It could not be established how much the clubs got after all service providers had been paid from the gatetakings.
A source who was part of the cashiers who were being detained by the local authority officials said the city council was demanding that they be paid an extra $1,000 for the VIP section whose entry was strictly by invitation.
It seems the BCC were drooling for a ‘fair share’ of the Mbada Diamonds Cup cake having seen Highlanders taking home a $130,000 winners cheque while losing finalists How Mine went away $90,000 richer.
“We were shocked to see council representatives coming into the cashiers’ office demanding that the PSL pays 20 percent of the estimated 1,000 people that got into the VIP stand.
They said it was the duty of the PSL to make sure that they settle that amount and there was a standoff as the chief cashier (identified as Charles) refused to budge. It had to take the intervention of Kenny Ndebele to settle the matter,” said the source.
Before the final, the BCC had written to the PSL highlighting their reservations about the $1 gate charges for the final and were demanding a “normal hire charge of $2,211.45” to be paid up front.
The demand was emanating from the fact that the council had in the first round of the competition racked in $2,191 after 10,115 people had paid their way to watch the double header that saw How Mine beat Black Rhinos 1-0 and Highlanders winning 3-1 against Triangle.
According to a letter from the director of housing and community services, Isaiah Magagula, dated 26 November, the local authority felt that they made a loss as they would have received $6,000 from the double header had the charges been the PSL stipulated $3.
Commenting on the detention of cashiers on Saturday, a source from the council who did not want to be named said: “The figure received in the first matches of the tournament did not measure up to the expenses incurred to maintain the stadium at a state in which it is. What it simply means is that the council made a loss. It is not like the council wanted to profiteer from the game but remember the facility will not be in use for the next four or so months but it needs to be maintained.”
Service providers have been getting a big chunk from clubs’ coffers which are gatetakings with local authorities getting 20 percent.
Zifa, the Sport and Recreation Commission, and the police are some of the biggest recipientss of gatetakings which leave clubs with virtually nothing.
The Premiership chief executive officer Ndebele brushed aside the Barbourfields incident and said it was a case of miscommunication.
“It is true that the council officials were asking for more but I viewed it as miscommunication because there are channels to follow when addressing such matters. It was eventually resolved and I think the best people to talk to is the council,” he said.
The director of housing and community services Magagula is on leave while repeated efforts to get a comment from his deputy MacKenzie Moyo were fruitless.
Online Reporter