PSL Governors speak

THE Premier Soccer League board of governors convenes in Harare this week to elect a chair to replace the deposed Twine Phiri.Foes Dynamos and Highlanders will take their rivalry to the boardroom when their respective leaders, president Kenny Mubaiwa and chairman Peter Dube, vie for the PSL top job on March 5.

Our Sports Reporter Ishemunyoro Chingwere spoke to the 14 PSL governors and asked them to spell out their expectations from the candidates vying for their votes.

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Border Strikers, Mandla Moyo – Unfortunately that is not a question I can answer on my own. I first have to get direction from the club on what we want before we make the decision.

Bulawayo City, Jerry Sibanda – I am still new to this and I can’t say where we will put our vote as of now. Even the qualities you are asking have to be discussed by the club executive and agreed upon.

Caps United, Lewis Uriri – Our expectations are very simple, previously the league has struggled for sponsorship, so now what we want is for whoever wins to consolidate the gains we got under the able leadership of Twine Phiri. We at Caps United trust that whoever comes in will realise that gone are the days when people just pour money into football but rather make money out of football.

Chapungu, Neil Armstrong – We don’t want somebody who comes in to take the title and carry it around for pride yet doing nothing for the game. We are the flagship affiliate and there is no doubt we are the best run. Whoever wins should continue the good work initiated by Twine and safeguard the interests of our sponsors.

Chicken Inn, Lifa Ncube – We want somebody able to manage in a way that is satisfactory. Somebody who can adhere to good coporate governance so that we can maintain the sponsorships we have and possibly attract more.

FC Platinum, Dumisani Sisale – I am only looking for somebody with integrity and who is upright. We want a healthy relationship with the sponsors so a candidate with corporate appeal and respect of the sponsors is the one we will vote for.

Harare City, Alois Masepe – I don’t think an election is what we want at the moment. The two should just sit down and negotiate a settlement which accomodates them all. The two are people of vast experience and I think the league will be better off if they can horse trade and share the chairmaship and deputy among themselves.

How Mine, Paul McAndrew – There is need to have a chairman who will continue to manage the PSL in a professional manner to the satisfaction of all clubs. He must be able to get sponsorship and have the ability to instil trust from all stakeholders.

Hwange, Joseph Zulu – Basically what I am looking at is somebody with football at heart. Tied to that we want a person who is ethical and it’s a quality which you can’t just develop over night. Football is tainted and we are saying we want clean football so we are voting for somebody who will clean the sport.

Mutare City, Isdore Bingura – We just want somebody who has football at heart. Somebody who will govern fairly and not start marginalising certain clubs be it along regional lines or otherwise.

Ngezi Platinum, Jeremiah Gasitene – We want somebody who will run the league transparently in a manner that will encourage more sponsors to partner us. We also want a leader who will champion the CAF club licensing drive so that our clubs don’t fall foul of CAF regulations when they qualify for continental tournaments.

Triangle, Lovemore Matikinyidze – I don’t want to go into the qualities of the candidate we want because if I do so I risk making my choice public. But what I can assure you is that we will give you the best candidate.

Tsholotsho, Mandla Gumbo – We want somebody with the same qualities as Twine Phiri. Phiri led us very well, there were no problems with sponsors so if we can get somebody to continue in that same path or even do better and then we would be happy.

ZPC Kariba, Tungamirai Mazarire – I am still fairly new in football so it’s a decision that I am yet to make. But when the time comes we will sit down as a club and decide on the candidate we want and I will vote for whoever the club asks me to.