PSL to release new fixtures schedule

Sikhumbuzo Moyo Senior Sports Reporter
THE painful exit of Zimbabwe’s club representatives and the Warriors in Caf competitions could prove to be a blessing in disguise for the cash-strapped Castle Lager Premiership teams who are likely to see few loss making mid week games being fixtured.
Zimbabwe representatives in Caf competitions, Dynamos (Champions League) and How Mine (Confederations Cup) were all knocked out of the two competitions early while the underachieving Warriors were shown the door in the first round of the 2015 African Cup of Nations qualifiers by Tanzania.

In their comprehensive 2014 calendar, the Premier Soccer League had reserved eight weeks as Caf matches although three of those weeks were also mid week. Had the national team gone past Tanzania, they would have met Mozambique in the final qualifier before three home matches in the group stages that have Zambia, Cape Verde and Uganda, bringing to nine weekends where the local Premiership would have been affected.

PSL chief executive officer Kennedy Ndebele told Chronicle Sport yesterday that his office would soon release a new fixtures schedule, taking into account the latest turn of events and scheduled tournaments.

“We will reschedule the fixtures soon,” said Ndebele.
A number of clubs were not quite happy with the mid week games, especially those that rely heavily on gate takings like giants Dynamos, Highlanders and to some extent Caps United.

The games saw Bulawayo giants Highlanders’ treasurer Jerry Sibanda becoming unpopular with the team’s following as the club increased their gate charges to $5 for most of their games last season in an effort to break even.

Highlanders need about $6,000 in winning bonuses for the players with the situation made worse if they win during a mid week game and travel away for the next.

Meanwhile, the PSL is on Friday expected to make an official announcement on the Super Eight tournament for this year.
Traditional sponsors BancABC pulled out last season as they sought to concentrate on club sponsorships.

“On Friday I should be in a position to tell you whether it’s there or not but at the moment we are working on something,” said Ndebele.
The quarter-finals of the Super Eight were tentatively set for April 26-27 while the semis were set for this weekend with the final exploding on June 28.