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. . Raymond Jaravaza
BROKE Zifa Southern Region clubs that are already struggling to keep afloat, will no longer have to pay match officials from their own pockets if the new First Division leadership has its way.
The recently voted Zifa Southern Region board led by chairman Andrew Tapela is on a charm offensive and has promised a cocktail of changes and pledges to be implemented before the 2019 season kicks off.
On the pledges list is an undertaking to secure sponsorship to take care of referees’ fees and lessen the burden on clubs that are already finding it hard to stay afloat in the biting economic conditions facing the country.
But with companies tightening their purses to bankroll football, how does Tapela and his executive hope to conquer the game’s Achilles Heel?
“It’s a problem that we will have to take head-on and the first port of call will be to immediately set up a committee that will deal with securing sponsorship for referees because we have clubs that are bankrolled by individuals and the costs (of paying match officials) are hurting them deeply.
“We believe it’s the responsibility of the league and not clubs to pay for referees so we will work hard to make that a reality,” Tapela told B-Metro Sport.
Tapela dislodged veteran administrator Musa Mandaza by 20 votes to seven to take over the Division One football hot seat in elections held in Bulawayo last Sunday.
He believes that playing in the Premier Soccer League should not be the ultimate pinnacle for Division One players as there are other lucrative leagues outside the country that can be tapped into.
“It’s very much possible for our players to join other leagues outside the country, for instance in South Africa, without necessarily playing in the local PSL but that needs us to go into partnerships with various clubs outside our borders so that they can scout players from our own league,” he said.
A few games remain before the 2018 season comes to an end and the Tapela-led board has mountains to move to fulfil the promises it made to the electorate in the run-up to the elections that ousted the long serving Mandaza, whose flirtation with local football dates back to before independence in 1980.
Online Reporter