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The domestic football family was left embarrassed when some Mbada Diamonds’ employees had to chip in and use their helmets and litter bins to scoop water that had clogged the pitch and rendered it unsafe for play to continue.
South Africa’s World Cup referee, Daniel Bennett who handled the inaugural final which Dynamos eventually won 1-0, had been adamant he would not continue with the match unless water was drained or scooped from the pitch.
The threat of lightning, as the rains came down at the National Sports Stadium, had forced Bennett to halt the match after just 17 minutes.
The rains continued to pound and Bennett was this time forced to halt the game for a longer spell after puddles of water covered the pitch and a tale of slipping players, or the ball being trapped in the water, characterised play.
Bennett had been hoping to find groundsmen ready to sweep away the water when he indicated that it would only be safe to resume the game after the pitch had been cleared.
But much to the embarrassment of Zifa, the Premier Soccer League and the fans, there was nothing available to be used to clear the water.
What riled both Zifa and the PSL was that the match was being beamed live in the country and across the continent, courtesy of SuperSport.
It was a blip in the massive marketing steps that the PSL are making to try and tie up a marriage with the digital satellite television company.
Ironically, the National Sports Stadium reopened for public use last year after undergoing refurbishment for over four years.
Zifa chief executive Jonathan Mashingaidze took a swipe at those manning the stadium and said it was unacceptable to have poor drainage at the country’s biggest stadium.
“We implore the responsible authorities to work on the drainage.
“Before the All-Africa Games in 1995, it took 15 minutes for drainage to clear all the water but now it takes longer.
“You can imagine what would be the case if we were on the August to May calendar that is used by many leagues, we would have serious problems.
“What angers the stakeholders is that the stadium owners earn 15 percent of gross revenue from these matches and in the absence of an efficient drainage system there should have been equipment to clear the water.
“In South Africa and in Europe they have equipment to even clear snow but today there was not even a broom,” Mashingaidze said.
No comment could be obtained from the Sports Commission, who run the stadium.
Mashingaidze said Zifa were happy to note that despite the boob by the stadium management, the electric atmosphere was not dampened.
“It was a harbinger of the Christmas mood that is about to grip the country and we are happy too that there was no incident of violence once again despite there being a big crowd,” Mashingaidze said.
The Zifa chief executive said they were also not happy with the manner in which the issue of touchline advertising continues to be handled at local matches.
“We also believe that touchline adverting should be left to football only and hangers on and those ambush marketers should have no place on our touchlines.
“This was a Mbada Diamonds Cup final but we saw some companies that have nothing to do with football advertising,” Mashingaidze said.
The Zifa chief executive was yesterday scheduled to engage the PSL chief to confirm the country’s representatives in the Confederation Cup.
Motor Action, by virtue of being the Mbada Diamonds Cup final runners up, also secured a slot in the Confederation Cup where they will be joined by Hwange who finished fourth on the Premiership table.
League and Cup winners Dynamos will represent the country in the Champions League together with the Premiership runners up.
The Mighty Bulls had also already secured a continental ticket by virtue of finishing third in the Premiership race.
Online Reporter