adminRicky Zililo, Sports Reporter
HWANGE’S Kabwe Warriors championship hopes in the Zifa Matabeleland North Division Two Soccer League have been dealt a blow after losing three points for using a player registered with a Division One side. According to the Zifa Matabeleland North chairman Dennis Tshuma, the Makwika Village club, who are now second on the log tied on 58 points with leaders Trumus Warriors were found guilty by their disciplinary committee for using goalkeeper Kelvin Nyoni when he was still registerd with Mpumalanga United.
Nyoni has since left Kabwe Warriors and joined Technosphere who are in the Zifa Southern Region Division One Soccer League.
“Two teams Kabwe Warriors and Prison Eagles have been docked three points for flouting the league’s rules and regulations. In the first half of the season, Kabwe Warriors used a double registered player and we have been investigating the matter and we confirmed with the Zifa Southern Region Division One Soccer League that when Nyoni played for Kabwe Warriors he was still under the books of Mpumalanga United. For that offence, they had three points docked.
“We will not allow clubs to breach the rules and regulations of the game. We want our league to be exemplary and may this be a lesson to other teams that if they use unregistered players, they will lose points,” said Tshuma.
He said the other team that has been docked three points is Prison Eagles for fielding Evidence Chakashanda against Moto Moto when he was supposed to serve suspension having received a red card against Trumus Warriors.
Three rounds of fixtures are left before the season ends and Kabwe Warriors remain optimistic that they will win promotion.
Today, they are involved in a Makwika Village derby against second from the bottom Brazil.
“We might have lost the points but we are still very much in contention for the title. Our preparations have been going on well and it is through hard work that we are where we are at this stage. As a club, we were made to believe that Nyoni had been cleared by his previous club but it turned out otherwise. Losing points is now water under the bridge and our focus is on winning against our neighbours tomorrow (today) and see to it that we remain on course,” said Francis Mwinga, Kabwe Warriors’ technical director.
In other matches, ambitious Victoria Falls’ Trumus Warriors have a tricky encounter when they play host to third placed Baobab Rovers.
Baobab Rovers are two points behind Trumus Warriors and Kabwe Warriors.
Fixtures
Today: Moto Moto v Ingagula (Hwange), Trumus v Baobab (Victoria Falls), Kabwe warriors v Brazil (Makwika), ZRP Hwange v Iwisa (Hwange Police), Amagagasi v Kamandama Celtics (Victoria Falls), Corinthians v Classic Luyando (Victoria Falls), Zambezi Lions v Hwange Under-17 (Victoria Falls), Blackrock v Prison Eagles (Hwange)
Log
P W D L F A Pts
Trumus Warriors 27 17 7 3 67 22 58
**Kabwe Warriors 27 18 4 5 53 23 58
Baobab Rovers 27 17 5 5 43 13 56
Amagagasi 27 16 7 4 50 27 55
Hwange Under-17 27 15 6 6 42 25 51
Blackrock 27 13 6 8 42 28 45
ZRP Hwange 27 12 8 7 50 37 44
*Prison Eagles 27 11 4 12 41 42 37
Moto Moto 27 9 8 10 29 29 35
Ingagula 27 8 8 11 36 48 32
Classic Luyando 27 7 10 0 34 40 31
Corinthians 27 9 3 15 25 55 30
Iwisa Amakhosi 27 7 4 16 31 45 25
Zambezi Lions 27 4 7 16 18 43 19
Brazil 27 3 7 17 21 54 16
Kamandama Celtic 27 0 4 23 14 67 4
*Three points deducted for using player with a red card
**Three points deducted for using a player double registered
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