PSL governors meet to plan for next season

Ricky Zililo Sports Reporter
CASTLE Lager Premier Soccer League governors meet in Harare tomorrow to review the 2013 season as well as plan for next season. The meeting will also see relegated Tripple B, Black Mambas and former champions Motor Action and Monomotapa bidding farewell to the top-flight.

Kennedy Ndebele, the Premiership chief executive officer, confirmed the meeting which he described as routine before the end of the year.

The Premiership governors will evaluate the four competitions that they ran, the season’s opening NetOne Charity Shield won by Chicken Inn, BancABC Sup8r bagged by Shabanie Mine, Mbada Diamonds Cup and the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League.

Dynamos won the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League for a third-year running and got to permanently keep the trophy while Highlanders were crowned Mbada Diamonds Cup winners last Saturday in Bulawayo after beating How Mine 3-0 in the final.

Ndebele said they would discuss challenges that they faced in running the competitions.
“Our review meeting is on Saturday where we expect all the board of governors including those whose teams have been relegated. This is basically a meeting to review the 2013 progress and see where we made mistakes so that we correct them ahead of next season. All the challenges we met and how best to address them will be discussed at the meeting,” said Ndebele.

Though Ndebele could not be drawn into elaborating more about the meeting, the club bosses are likely to talk about the constitution review exercise which should be in line with the new Zifa constitution.

Also expected to be addressed is the league sponsorship matter following the expiry of their Castle Lager partnership. Negotiations are already in progress for a new deal with Delta Beverages and it is at tomorrow’s meeting that clubs will be briefed on the sponsorships issue.

Through their Castle Lager brand, Delta Beverages have been funnelling $600,000 per season in the last three years with the winners of the league taking home $70,000.

Clubs are keen on having the sponsorship package reviewed upwards and the PSL chairman Twine Phiri, who is negotiating on behalf of his affiliates, is expected to take note of clubs’ grievances.

Another key issue that is highly likely to be discussed is the club licensing matter. Meanwhile, Ndebele is happy that they managed to have a scandal-free 2013 season and said they would strive to do better.

“By any standards we had a great league championship which ran within a stipulated calendar. It is small things like that which show the level of orderliness of an organisation and in turn leads to getting confidence from the corporate world. We hope to maintain the same momentum and possibly do better,” said Ndebele.

With Ndebele as chief executive, the PSL brand has grown in leaps and bounds with international broadcaster SuperSport also coming on board.