admin
Sports Hub
THE Premier Soccer League break might have come at an opportune time for most of the clubs in the 18-team league.
The top-flight league yesterday announced a three-week break to pave the way for the upcoming FIFA 2026 World Cup qualifiers and the COSAFA tournament.
The league’s Communications and Media Liaison Officer Kudzai Bare said in a statement that local match schedules will pause from June 1 to June 22.
The break, which comes just three rounds of play before the league programme reaches the halfway mark, begins this weekend at the end of the rescheduled fixture between Herentals and Bikita Minerals set for Rufaro on Saturday.
“This serves to advise that the Premier Soccer League will be taking a break from 1 June 2024 to accommodate the upcoming FIFA World Cup Qualifiers and the COSAFA Men’s Competition.
“During this period, only one rescheduled match between Herentals College FC and Bikita Minerals FC will be played on Saturday 1 June 2024 at Rufaro Stadium at 1500 hours.
“The Castle Lager PSL matches will resume on Saturday 22 June 2024,” said Bare.
Zimbabwe are set to take part in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers beginning next week. They have a date with Lesotho at their adopted home ground Orlando Stadium in Johannesburg on June 7.
They will then play hosts South Africa at Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein four days later in the same competition.
The COSAFA tournament, also set for South Africa, is expected to start soon after the World Cup qualifiers.
A handful of local players are also expected to be announced in the Warriors team to be led by caretaker coach Jairos Tapera, who is also head coach of domestic log leaders, Manica Diamonds.
This break will likely give most of the teams some time to reflect and refocus their strategies.
But Tapera and his Gem Boys, who have won nine of their last 10 games, could be affected by this disruption as it will likely have an impact on the team’s momentum.
Manica Diamonds currently leads the pack in this campaign which has been punctuated by several twists and turns.
They rose from the bottom of the table on week four to take full control of the campaign.
They have 29 points in the bag, one ahead of former champions FC Platinum, after 14 rounds of play.
The platinum miners have also been enjoying fine form and could be averse to taking a break at this moment.
The other team in top form are Simba Bhora, who beat giants CAPS United away at Rufaro last Sunday. Their coach Tonderai Ndiraya believes the team needs time to work on their defensive shortcomings.
“We have not won in our previous two matches and for us to bounce back to winning ways, especially against a very good side like CAPS United gives us a lot of pleasure and we now focus on the next match.
“I think we have not done well in terms of defending. We have conceded in almost every game; I think out of the 14 games that we have played, we have managed to keep about three or four clean sheets,” Ndiraya said.
Online Reporter