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Raymond Jaravaza
THE ZIFA Southern Region league has set 31 March as the deadline for player registration ahead of the 2017 season that begins on the weekend of 15 and 16 April.
The league resolved to stick to a 16-team campaign at an Annual General Meeting (AGM) last weekend.
Registration costs $20 per player and $50 for a technical team member, translating to $600 for a 30-member squad and $300 for a technical bench with six members.
Eight of the registered must be below the age of 23, a move aimed at promoting junior development.
a�?Clubs are currently attending an online registration course that will require that all players are registered in a central database which will ultimately eradicate age cheating and situations where a player is registered with two different teams thereby causing mayhem when the season starts.
a�?We expect clubs to have registered their squads at the end of this month,a�? said league chairman Musa Mandaza.
Meanwhile, the league last week resolved to reduce affiliation fees for both old and new teams.
Four new teams a��Bulawayo based Chiwororo and Zim Leopards as well as Mosi-oa-Tunya and Motomoto from Victoria Falls and Hwange respectivelyA� – will each fork out $2750 down from $3 000.
Old teams will part with $2 000, reduced from $2 500.
a�?We realised that most teams have gone down, either to the lower divisions or are now defunct, owing us (Southern Region) a lot of money in unpaid affiliation fees. To avoid a situation where teams find it difficult to pay affiliation fees, we have agreed to reduce the levies,a�? he said.
Clubs are expected to pay at least half of their affiliation fees before the season starts and settle the balance by August.
2017 season teams:
Bulawayo Chiefs, ZRP Bulawayo Province, Amagagasi, ZPC Hwange, Black Boots, Technosphere, Casmyn, Talen Vision, Makomo, Victoria Falls Tigers, Bosso90, Indlovu Iyanyathela, Chiwororo, Zim Leopards, Mosi-oa-Tunya, Motomoto
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derick.khumalo