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Curtworth Masango
Sports Reporter
PSL president Farai Jere has encouraged clubs to take the Chibuku Super Cup tournament seriously to enjoy the incentive of continental club football.
This year’s tournament gets underway tomorrow with a double-header of preliminary-round matches at Mandava in Zvishavane.
TelOne will be locking horns with Arenel in a midday kick-off while Chegutu will face Hwange later at 3pm.
The winners will join 14 other teams in the second round of the prestigious tournament, bankrolled by Delta Beverages for US$375 000.
Dynamos are the defending champions.
In an interview with Zimpapers Sport, Jere said:
“We are encouraging our clubs to take this competition seriously in the highest regard it deserves.
“It gives you the ticket to the Confederation Cup and the reason why Dynamos will be playing Zesco in the upcoming weeks.
“We need very competitive teams to represent us as it is an opportunity for the country to exhibit our talent and that’s why it should be taken seriously.”
Jere said the decentralisation of the tournament by hosting matches at different venues across the country has allowed the game to grow as there is an increase in attendance.
“Our fans were travelling away for home matches, which limited the number of people who attended our matches last season.
“The issue of stadiums was discouraging but now our PSL games have witnessed a big rise with more than 50 percent.
“When the sponsor comes in they will be looking at us and see how many people are coming to the stadiums and how many people are watching it online as it reflects their possible customers.
“So it all has to do with brand visibility and brand awareness.
“And the coming in of Wadzanai, Rufaro, Sakubva, and The Heart Stadium made the significant game changer in these aspects. “All these infrastructures which were added made a big difference.
“We are grateful to Delta Beverages for being there during all these difficult years,” he said.
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