dyton mupawaenda
Eddie Chikamhi-Senior Sports Reporter
HARARE giants Dynamos got their wish yesterday after the Premier Soccer League granted the request to postpone their match against Manica Diamonds that was scheduled for Gibbo tomorrow.
DeMbare argued they had sent their players home, with some having travelled as far as Bulawayo to be with their families, after the league had earlier this week announced that the weekend fixture had been suspended to pave the way for the proposed friendly international between Zimbabwe and Botswana.
ZIFA had wanted to take advantage of the FIFA window for international break to prepare for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers with a sparring match against the Zebras but it turned out nothing had been agreed between the two associations.
The Premier Soccer League, in their quest to avoid a fixture bottleneck in the coming month, reinstated the games after consultations with the ZIFA Normalisation Committee.
But DeMbare sought a reprieve as they claimed they were unable to raise a team under the circumstances, with three of their players having also called up for national duty. Goalkeeper Prince Tafiremutsa was dropped from the training camp yesterday.
“Our players broke camp yesterday (Tuesday) upon our receipt of official communication from your office, dated 11th October 2023, which communication informed all clubs of the cancellation and postponement of all League games to next week,” wrote DeMbare chief executive officer, Jonathan Mashingaidze, to the PSL.
“As if that were not enough, your office sent us the rearranged Fixtures for next week. Our players were then released by the club and some of them had to travel outside of Harare to be with their families.
“It is next to impossible to have our players regrouping and train for a day for the rearranged fixture which had been officially called off due to national team assignment falling under FIFA dates for such assignments. May you kindly have our fixture rearranged so as not to clash with the national team assignments.”
The Glamour Boys vice-chairman Vincent Chawonza yesterday said the club was relieved by the decision to postpone the game.
“The main reason we had requested for the postponement was that firstly we had three players in the national team. Secondly we had broken camp and given our players some time off so that they could return in camp next Monday to prepare for our next game that had been scheduled for mid-next week.
“So, players like Kelvin Moyo, Elvis Moyo, Donald Dzvinyai and Shadreck Nyahwa had already travelled to Bulawayo to be with their families.
“So we were in a real crisis but now we can breathe and we can plan properly,” said Chawonza. The PSL released a revised fixture to the clubs yesterday indicating the postponement of the game. DeMbare will play Ngezi Platinum Stars in their next assignment.
The giants lost considerable ground in the title race when they drew 0-0 with Triangle before losing 0-1 to Herentals in their last two games. They are now fourth on the log standings with 43 points, eight behind log leaders Ngezi Platinum going into the last eight games of the season.
Fixtures:
Tomorrow: Herentals v Yadah (NSS), Ngezi Platinum Stars v Chicken Inn (Baobab), Bulawayo Chiefs v Simba Bhora (Luveve), ZPC Kariba v FC Platinum (Nyamhunga), Black Rhinos v GreenFuel (Bata)
Sunday: Triangle v Hwange (Gibbo), Highlanders v Cranborne Bullets (Barbourfields), CAPS Utd v Sheasham (NSS)
Postponed: Manica Diamonds v Dynamos (Gibbo)
Online Reporter