NO SUPERSPORT YET FOR PSL

Fungai Muderere
DIGITAL television channel SuperSport will have to wait a little longer to start beaming live Castle Lager Premier Soccer League matches amid revelations that a sticky issue involving the required licences has not been ironed out.

An initial Week Six fixtures schedule released on Tuesday had indicated that SuperSport was set to broadcast live four PSL matches to be played at National Sports Stadium beginning Saturday.

However, PSL communications and media liaison manager, Kudzai Bare told B-Metro Sport on Wednesday that the wait would be longer than expected.

aï¿½?There are some procedures that needed to be followed before the broadcasting of the matches. No Castle Lager Premier Soccer League matches will be shown live on Supersport this weekend. The matches will probably start showing next weekend when the required licences issue has been resolved with the relevant authorities,aï¿½? he said.

The esteemed television channel has been conspicuous by its absence leading to fears the broadcaster could be pulling out of the country.

None of the matches played since the beginning of the season in early April were broadcast on the aï¿½?world of championsaï¿½?.

First to be shown live this season was set to be the game between defending champions CAPS United and struggling Chapungu.

Prophet Walter Magaya, the owner of Yadah FC, interestingly revealed that their Yadah TV would bid to secure the television rights of the domestic Premiership when the top-flight leagueaï¿½ï¿½s deal with SuperSport ends this year.

aï¿½?Yadah will bid for television rights of the Premiership and I can tell you we will offer far more than what clubs are getting , in terms of funds coming into their coffers from the current deal and we are confident of securing them,aï¿½? said Magaya who is also reportedly targeting a partnership with state broadcaster ZBC.

aï¿½?We want matches to be broadcast live on Yadah TV but we obviously wonaï¿½ï¿½t be able to have live broadcasts of Sunday matches because of our main service and these matches can be broadcast live on ZTV,aï¿½? he added.

Local PSL clubs reportedly get $22 000 each from PSL-SuperSport deal. In South Africa, the leagueaï¿½ï¿½s broadcasting rights are worth R492 765 050, which is almost double the league sponsorship amount.