Online Reporter
Eddie Chikamhi
Zimpapers Sports Hub
FOR the first time in almost 20 years, there will be no candidate from the traditional Big Three – Highlanders, CAPS United and Dynamos – vying for the chairmanship of the domestic Castle Lager Premiership.
This comes as three candidates – Isaiah Mupfurutsa from Simba Bhora, Masimba Chihowa of Manica Diamonds and FC Platinum’s Dumisani Sisale – were reported the only aspirants to have submitted their papers at the close of the nominations deadline last Friday.
The trio will be vying to replace CAPS United president Farai Jere, who stepped aside at the end of his tenure in December 2024 and is not interested in running again for now.
The PSL Emergency Committee, comprising Mupfurutsa and Chihowa, and Dynamos chairman Moses Maunganidze, has been running the show for the past six months. The Emergency Committee is the highest decision-making body within PSL.
In the hope of fostering continuity, Mupfurutsa and Chihowa confirmed their aspirations for the PSL top job when speaking to the Zimpapers Sports Hub yesterday. Sources also confirmed Sisale was interested in the hot seat.
“I am glad to say I submitted my papers and it’s true I will be vying for the PSL chairmanship,” said Mupfurutsa, who has been a member of the PSL Emergency Committee since 2018 when he was still at Dynamos.
“I have been part of the PSL leadership from my days at Dynamos. That’s when I first joined the Emergency Committee and I bounced back again when I joined Simba Bhora.
“My biggest motivation to run for the PSL chairmanship is because I feel I have garnered enough experience during my years in football administration and for the sake of continuity, I think I needed to step up. But there are processes that need to be followed before I can confirm my candidacy,” said Mupfurutsa.
Manica Diamonds chairman Chihowa also shared his sentiments on his motivation to run for the PSL hot seat.
“I submitted my papers before the deadline on Friday. I think I am one of the most senior people in the PSL leadership at the moment, in terms of experience.
“I have been a member of the Emergency Committee for a long time. So, after consultations and approaches from some governors, I just thought why not go for it?” said Chihowa.
There were also confirmations from the Big Three that they will not stand for the chairmanship, with Bosso’s chairman Kenneth Mhlophe saying he has opted to go for the vice-chairmanship.
“I have submitted my papers for the PSL vice-chairmanship and I am now waiting for the processes to take place. So, I can only comment further than this after my candidacy has been made official by ZIFA,” said Mhlophe.
Dynamos chairman Moses Maunganidze wasn’t immediately available for comment but close sources said the Harare executive turned down overtures by some PSL governors to enter the race for the chairmanship. Instead, Maunganidze will be up for a position in the PSL board.
“He is out of the race. He turned down the offers from some governors who had promised to back his bid. But he was not interested. Probably he needs to focus on club commitments at Dynamos.
“The team is not doing well this season and it only makes sense that he invests all his energies at the club,” said a source.
However, this is the first time that there will be no candidate from either Dynamos, CAPS United or Highlanders since 2006 when former Kadoma Wild Cats owner Tapiwa Matangaidze and Mwandibuya Mutepfa of Lancashire Steel contested for the position.
Businessman Matangaidze, who later relinquished football to become a legislator, won the poll and presided over PSL business for four years.
Afterwards, the giants began a period of dominance as former CAPS United owner Twine Phiri was elected twice in 2010 and 2014. Phiri rose to the top after beating the late Eric Rosen of
Motor Action in a close race that yielded 9-7 poll results.
Phiri retained the PSL chairmanship in 2014 in a lop-sided election against then Dynamos executive chairman Kenny Mubaiwa.
However, Phiri’s position became untenable in 2015 and was toppled by the new ZIFA leadership led by Philip Chiyangwa which directed that the top-flight body should hold fresh elections to choose a representative for the top-flight body on the association’s board.
Phiri was part of the ZIFA board led by Cuthbert Dube whose mandate was revoked by the ZIFA assembly at an extraordinary meeting at Prince Edward School in October 2015.
As a result, the PSL board of governors held elections in 2016 to fill the void. Two candidates, Dynamos’ Mubaiwa and Highlanders’ Peter Dube filed their nomination papers and it was
Dube, who previously served as the league’s vice-chairperson, who won the election by a landslide after trouncing Mubaiwa 14-4.
It seemed there was an unwritten rule in the last decade that the PSL hot seat was a preserve of the Big Three, as Mubaiwa also got his chance as acting chairperson following the suspension of Dube by ZIFA at the height of the boardroom bickering between the league and the mother body in late 2016.
As chairperson of the PSL Emergency Committee, Mubaiwa served at the helm of the league until 2018.
In 2018, there was a shift, as there was a challenger from outside the Big Three for the first time in many years. The new entrant was Triangle’s Lovemore Matikinyidze, who threw his hat in the ring to battle it out with CAPS United’s Farai Jere.
The CAPS United boss ultimately got elected, but even then, the election was close as Jere edged home by nine votes to seven.
This year, PSL will have a chairman from outside the Big Three for the first time since 2010.
But the trio of Mupfurutsa, Sisale and Chihowa will know whether they are cleared to run for the PSL’s highest office on July 10 when ZIFA publish the list of the successful candidates, according to Article 31.9 of th
