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Grace Chingoma-Senior Sports Reporter
THE Zimbabwe Women’s Soccer League have resolved that the league will start on June 19 following a meeting held at the ZIFA Village on Saturday.
Women’s football returns after one-and-half-years of absence.
The association had proposed that the league starts on the weekend of June 5– 6.
But after the club’s representatives deliberated on the dates, they agreed to six weeks of pre-season preparations before commencing the league.
According to the minutes of the meeting, the clubs are expected to have conducted their Covid-19 tests by April 23.
ZIFA will partly fund the women’s league by meeting the Covid-19 tests, referees fees as well as transport costs for the clubs.
Already the association has committed to referee fees for the men’s top-flight league.
But they have gone a step ahead and committed to assisting women’s football which doesn’t have much sponsorship with transport costs.
Furthermore, the clubs are required to pay an affiliation fee of $40 000 before May 19. The clubs that fail to pay the money risk paying an additional $5 000 interest fee.
The clubs are also expected to register all their players and issued out with licences.
A tension-filled meeting saw the club chairpersons argue on a number of issues with the number of clubs in the league a thorny issue.
The league has decided to have a 16-member league from the traditional 12 teams which they had decided before football went into lockdown last year.
According to minutes from last year’s annual meeting held at the end of February before football went into lockdown, it was agreed that the clubs should maintain a 12-team league.
Last year, the league had promoted Chipembere Queens from Central Region, Barrow Jets from the Southern Region and Quincy Academy Queens from the Eastern Region, while the fourth team from the Northern Region was still outstanding.
The demoted clubs from the last season which was played in 2019 are ZRP Harare Queens, Auckland Queens, Conduit Academy and Cyclone Stars.
Black Rhinos won the league title and will represent the country in the inaugural Caf Champions League this year.
The army side, which is coming from a lengthy inactivity and will compete with clubs from other countries that have been playing football, will have to make the most from the training which is expected to start in a week’s time.
The zonal Cosafa Champions League have been scheduled to start next month. The winner from the bloc will go on to represent the region at the Caf Champions League finals in Morocco in November.
Online Reporter