admin
Ray Bande Senior Sports Reporter—
| AGELESS Caps United top man, Leonard Tsipa and FC Platinum captain, Petros Mhari are top on the list of favourites to clinch this year’s Castle Lager Premiership soccer star of the year gong when a panel of selectors gather on Tuesday in Harare to choose the best performing players of the 2016 season. |
Unlike previous soccer stars of the year selection meeting that were done a day before the final round of league fixtures, the 2016 Castle Lager soccer stars of the year will be chosen on Tuesday, well after the league fixtures, while the soccer stars banquet will be held the following week on December 2.
The timing of the selection and the criterion itself had come under severe criticism over the years as it prejudiced players and coaches that come from teams that eventually win the league on the final day of the season, while defenders were short-changed given their positions on the field that would leave them with more yellow and red cards compared to midfielders and strikers.
This year, the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League relaxed conditions of eligibility for selection in the soccer stars of the year award as well as the other finalists who make it to the calendar.
According to the criteria, a player who accumulates a total of 10 or more disciplinary points will not be eligible for selection for the awards unlike the previous years when any player who accumulated six yellow cards or more during the course of the season up to selection time would not be eligible for the awards.
A red card is worth two points, while a yellow card carries a one-point penalty.
This means that for a player to be disqualified based on disciplinary issues, he would have picked 10 yellow cards or five reds during one season.
The league management decided to have the disciplinary points relaxed following an outcry by the selection panel that the disciplinary measures were too stringent and were unfair particularly on the defensive players.
A coach who is expelled from the technical area at least five times in the season will be deemed ineligible for the coach of the year award.
Any player or coach who is convicted by the Zimbabwe Football Association or relevant regulatory body of any doping or match-fixing offence shall be ineligible for selection.
In the event that a coach is fired from his job after taking charge of at least 10 matches, he will still be eligible for selection in the coach of the year category.
The referee of the year, first and second runner-up will be selected independently by the Zifa Referees’ Committee.
The most disciplined team award will be given to the team with the least cumulative points at the end of the season.
The winner of the 2016 Castle Lager soccer star of the year will receive a trophy and $5 000 prize money, while runners-up will get $3 000 and $2 000 respectively with the rest of the finalists taking home $1 000 each.
Last year, Chicken Inn provided more players than any other club among the best 11 players on the land in 2015.
Chicken Inn had four of their players making it among the 11 outstanding players of the season.
According to Delta Beverages, sponsors of the top-flight league, through their Castle Lager brand, the voting will be done through a computerised electronic ballot system introduced in 2014.
Delta Beverages marketing manager, Patricia Murambinda, confirmed the dates, saying they will continue with the PSL voting system and panelists’ votes will be made public like what happens with the Ballon d’Or in Europe.
“The selection will be held on November 29 after the final matches.
“The electronic voting system will be supervised by a panel of experts who include media editors, football stakeholders, as well as Delta Beverages internal and external audit firms.
“The selection panel will consist of 16 Castle Lager PSL coaches, 16 Castle Lager PSL club captains and 32 media practitioners.
“Panelists have been involved in the selection of the Castle Lager PSL player and coach of the month awards from the beginning of the 2016 season,” Murambinda said.
She added: “The banquet will be held on December 2. Although the soccer star will be picked on the day, their names will be announced at the gala to be held in the capital.”
2015 awards recipients:
Soccer star of the year – Danny Phiri (Chicken Inn, now at Golden Arrows)
First runner-up: Ocean Mushure (Dynamos)
Second runner-up: Knox Mutizwa (Highlanders, now at Bidvest, SA)
Goalkeeper of the year: Elvis Chipezeze (Chicken Inn)
Most promising young player: Tatenda Mukuruva (Dynamos)
Coach of the year: Joey Antipas (Chicken Inn)
Referee of the year: Nomore Musundire
Most disciplined team of the year: Harare City
Castle Lager soccer stars of the year finalists: Danny Phiri, Elvis Chipezeze, Edmore Chirambadare, Clemence Matawu (Chicken Inn), Ocean Mushure, Tatenda Mukuruva (Dynamos), Brian Muzondiwa (FC Platinum), Stephen Makatuka (Caps United), Knox Mutizwa (Highlanders, now at Bidvest Wits), Raphael Manuvire (ZPC Kariba not at Harare City).
Online Reporter