Northern Region Division One kicks off

league’s last champions Harare City, now plying their trade in the Premiership, were only confirmed last month following boardroom wrangles with Dstv.
And yesterday, secretary-general Sweeney Mushonga said they were bracing for a fresh and exciting season.
“We have maintained a 16-team league which we expect to be competitive.
“In line with the resolutions passed at the Zifa Inter-regional meeting, the first half of the season for all the four regions should end on June 30.
“We are expecting to have a tournament for the four regions around that time and we are still working on the modalities and the sponsorship details.
“We will have mid-week matches so that we fulfill all the matches by that time.
“Last season was good in terms of competition and the only blemish was the Harare City and Dstv Rangers dispute.
“We don’t want to dwell much on that now it is water under the bridge and this season we have told the clubs that the best club should win and we will not entertain such scenarios.
“Football should always be the winner at the end of the day. And we are glad to continue to churn out teams that go into the top-flight and stand their own ground and are not immediately relegated,” said Mushonga.
The first week opens with a mouth-watering clash between DC Academy and Mwana Africa at Gwanzura on Sunday.
DC Academy play an attacking brand of football while former Premiership side Mwana Africa, who were pipped to the title race last year, will be hoping for a good run this year.
Another title contender, Black Rhinos, have a date with Skylink at One Commando.
Tomorrow:
Banket vs Scotia (Banket); Black Rhinos v   Skylink (One Commando); Eiffel Flats v JMC    (Rimuka); Flame Lily v Power Master (Chikurubi);
Sunday
Blue Jets v Jumbo Giants (Rimuka); DC Academy v Mwana Africa (Gwanzura); DStv Rangers v  ZPC Kariba (Hellenic).