adminSenior Sports Reporter
THE Premier Soccer League is lobbying for the merger of the country’s four Division One Leagues to come up with two second-tier leagues, Post Sport has learnt.
The development, if it comes to fruition, will see two teams being promoted from the Northern and Southern Region to the top flight league and vice versa two teams will also be relegated from the Premiership at the end of each season.
The plan draws credence from the fact that currently the Premiership relegates four clubs at the end of each season, a massive 25 percent of its total number of affiliate clubs.
Although the initial plan was to lobby for one National Division One League, the prevailing harsh economic conditions led to the idea to have two Division One Leagues and at least cut costs for the already financially struggling Division One clubs.
For years, PSL has been relegating three clubs until the recent formation of the Central Region which saw the country’s top flight league management body relegating four clubs at the end of each season in order to accommodate four replacements from the four regions. However, Post Sport has it on good authority that the Premiership board of governors are now pushing for the merger of the Central and Southern Region to form one Southern Region while the current Northern and Eastern Region also merge to form one Northern Region.
In an interview on the sidelines of the Soccer Stars of the Year banquet in Harare last Friday, Premier Soccer League chairman Twine Phiri confirmed that there is a move to lobby for the merger of the country’s four Division One Leagues to come up with two second-tier leagues.
Phiri said the initial plan was to lobby for one National Division One League but the prevailing harsh economic conditions led to the idea to have two Division One Leagues and at least cut costs for the already financially struggling Division One clubs.
“It is true. We are pushing for the formation of the Southern and Northern Regions as the two second-tier leagues for the nation. We wanted to have one national Division One League but considering the costs of travelling from Mutare to Hwange or Beitbridge to the other end of the country, we thought we could have two Division One Leagues for the whole country.
“We know that the idea will face resistance from some section just for selfish interests but in the interest of football development we surely cannot continue relegating four teams at the end of each season.
“We will indeed lobby for that idea with the view that all level-headed administrators of the game of football in the country will see the sense in it. Obviously it has to be endorsed by the Zifa councillors and we sincerely hope they will do the right thing in the interest of football development,” said Phiri.
For a long time now, the idea to have one Division One League has remained a talk show but the idea to have two Division One leagues being mooted by the top flight league authorities might be welcomed by many, who have always complained about the status quo in which four teams have to be relegated from the Premiership at the end of the each season.
Online Reporter