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TWELVE clubs have registered for the Southern Region Five-A-Side Soccer League which kicks off at the Bulawayo Athletic Club on Sunday.
Prior to the league kick off, the Southern Region held two tournaments this month with Nust winning the May Day competition while Munyoro United were crowned Africa Day champions on Monday.
The teams that have registered with the league are Fox FC, Amabhubesi, Nust, Munyoro United, Khalanyoni, St Andrews, Ampha, FOG Stars, Wanguwangu, Gwabalanda, FML and ALCC.
Philani Banda, the Five-A-Side Southern Region chairman said clubs that want to be part of their league have a week left to affiliate.
“We are excited with the way the teams responded to the call to establish the league after years of inactivity. We are starting our matches this weekend with 12 clubs and what we have said is that those that want to join can do so before next weekend. I believe that the bigger the league, the more the fun and that is what we are trying to do,” said Banda.
The top four teams at the end of the season will meet the other four from the Northern Region with the winner of the top eight clash being crowned national champions.
Banda said they are not looking back as they are keen to revive the sport which was last played in 2012 when the Zimbabwe national five-a-side team bowed out of the Futsal World Cup qualifier following their 5-3 aggregate loss to South Africa.
After the World Cup qualifiers, hopes for the development of the sport were high given that the type of game had generated a lot of interest.
Most of the players that represented Zimbabwe at the Futsal World Cup qualifiers were drawn from Bulawayo and Harare who had a few clubs that were active.
Fixtures
Sunday: Ampha v ALCC (11AM), Fox v Amabhubesi (12PM), Nust v Munyoro United (1PM), St Andrews v FML (2PM), Gwabalanda v Khalanyoni (3PM), FOG Stars v Wanguwangu (4PM)
***All matches at the Bulawayo Athletic Club
derick.khumalo