Ndebele gets powers

 

sport along professional lines. Ndebele administers a PSL secretariat that includes executive secretary Cuthbert Mutandwa and officers Ruth Mhaka and Elisha Mandireva.

But the league’s board members have also been found meddling in the daily running of the game at times causing some friction and duplication of duties with the secretariat.

However, PSL chairman Twine Phiri yesterday revealed that his board would this year ensure that Ndebele and his team would enjoy greater freedom and power to run the game.

Interestingly, Ndebele recently received a contract extension from the league.
Phiri, who will preside over the PSL annual meeting in the capital this morning, said they were anticipating their brand to continue growing and attract more corporate partners.

The CAPS United president also knows that this is a defining season for him as he oversees the final year of his initial tenure as PSL chairman with a highly successful season likely to help deliver him another mandate in charge of the league from February 2014 while failure would signal the end of his rein.

“Basically we expect the AGM to be smooth sailing as we will be reporting back to the clubs on what we have done and achieved together in the last year and where we have failed we will together establish the way forward.

“As a board we will also tell the clubs that the full powers to run the brand have now been given to the CEO and his team at the secretariat,’’ Phiri said.

The PSL chairman also said they would use today’s meeting to also find ways to curb hooliganism that continues to pose a threat to the growth of local football.

“Again the issue of hooliganism is something that remains of great concern to us. We have to take a united stand against hooliganism and member clubs play a key role in this respect as they would need to educate their supporters about it.

“Football must remain a family sport where even a father and his son can watch the same game but still differ on the teams they support without fearing that those differences would degenerate into violence.

“We will also be imposing stiffer penalties against hooligans because we cannot afford to have hooliganism driving away both spectators and sponsors from this beautiful game,’’ Phiri said.

But it is the confirmation from the PSL chairman that he will get a freer rein that should come as sweet music to Ndebele given that the seasoned administrator had been concerned about problems that emanated from board members wanting to be involved in the daily administration of football.

With the PSL television rights deal with SuperSport set to move into gear in the 2013 season, it also promises to be a busy year on the administrative front of the league and the top-flight body could not afford a scenario where the chief executive and his superiors constantly clashed.

Ndebele had hinted at the frustration of not having enough space to manouvre to and implement programmes including their strategic plan whose vision he said is enunciated in their new mission statement: “More than just a game’’.

We want a league that changes people’s lives and there had to be a paradigm shift from the way we have been doing things and one of the weaknesses we have had in the past is on implementing what we would have agreed on.

“There should be a defined separation of powers between the secretariat and the board with the board assuming a supervisory role while the secretariat runs the daily affairs of football,’’ Ndebele said.

Today’s indaba, at which all the 16 clubs are expected to be represented, will also discuss the 2013 fixture propgramme amid indications from Ndebele that the league should brace for the return of some night matches.

The advent of SuperSport live coverage, Ndebele said, would also result in some matches having to be played on Fridays instead of the traditional Saturday and Sunday afternoon games.

“In some instances we may have to stage double headers at the same venue so that we can have two games benefitting from television coverage,’’ Ndebele said.

The PSL chief executive is expected to use today’s meeting to outline to the clubs how the proposed double headers would be staged and how the issue of gate revenue, for which a number of clubs heavily rely on, would be dealt with.

Debate is also expected to be livened up by the fact that clubs have also been asked to draw up submission on what they believe ought to be implemented to add value to the PSL.

The clubs have already voiced concern that they were not fully briefed on the modalities of the SuperSport deal and how the league has managed to resolve the clashes between sponsors that threatened the fabric of the league last year.