adminRay Bande Mutare Bureau
THE ZIFA Eastern Region will soon officially unveil a sponsorship package that will see branded uniforms being provided, a fully funded end-of-year awards ceremony and a significant reduction in club affiliation fees, among other benefits for the Division One League.
The league has been running without sponsorship since formation, heaping a huge financial burden on the poorly-funded clubs who play in the second-tier league.
ZIFA Eastern Region chairman Davison Muchena told The Herald they have reached an agreement with a sponsor.
The Chiredzi-based football administrator said everything was now in place and they will soon reveal the identity of the sponsor as well as the package during the official unveiling ceremony on a date yet to be announced.
“We are excited that we have finally secured sponsorship with a reputable company and details of the sponsorship package as well as the identity of the sponsor will soon be availed at a ceremony to be held on a date yet to be agreed.
“As I speak, I am holding the Memorandum of Understanding between the sponsor and the Eastern Region administration.
“Some of the things that the region stands to benefit from the sponsorship package include branded home-and-away uniforms to be provided for the clubs, a fully funded end-of- year awards ceremony and a significant reduction in affiliations fees for clubs.
“The sponsor will provide a certain amount to go towards administration, therefore it means clubs will have their affiliation fees significantly reduced since we used to depend on affiliation fees for administrative costs,” said Muchena.
The ZIFA Eastern Region chairman said the league takes a break this coming weekend and his administration will have an extraordinary meeting, where the issue of the sponsorship deal will be discussed and finalised.
“We will have our EGM this weekend in Masvingo and the issue of the sponsorship deal will be discussed and finalised.
“We will also have time to meet members of technical departments of teams in the league to educate them on some of the regulations of the league as well as football regulations in general.
“We mooted this idea after realisation that some of our coaches and team managers are actually ignorant of some important regulations. You see someone with a Caf B coaching licence failing to know when the transfer window opens. Even if you look at some of the matches that are abandoned, it is a result of ignorance for some (of the regulations).
“Issues to do with booking and opening of match venues, pre-match meetings and so on. There is sheer ignorance and we thought we should take time to sit down and talk to the people who have direct control of players on the field of play,” said Muchena.
Online Reporter