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THE Zifa Southern Region is now set for an exciting finish following the announcement of a “Soccer Stars” award for players plying their trade in Division One last Friday evening.
Eleven players are set to be honoured at the end of the year along with the coach of the year and top goal scorer in the Machache Meats Southern Region Player Awards.
The unveiling of the awards came just two days after a new knockout tournament involving teams from Division One, Two and Three, the LG Foods Southern Region Knockout Tournament, was made public.
The Machache Meats Awards were announced at a function held at Zifa offices on Friday evening.
The awards will see the introduction of a Soccer Star for the Region with a ceremony being held at the end of the year to honour the best players that would have been voted for by their peers.
The player who emerges the best footballer in Division One will walk away $300 richer with the first runner-up getting $150 and third placed player taking home $100. The other eight will pocket $50 each while the coach of the year will smile all the way to the bank with $250. The player who bangs in most goals and gets the golden boot will be rewarded with $300.
Zifa Southern Region chairman Musa Mandaza said he was happy to see Machache Meats coming back to support soccer after they sponsored a tournament for the same league last year.
He said the awards were meant to motivate players and encourage them to be at their best.
“While we are aware there are different forms of motivation, money usually does the trick and I think this will propel the players to finish the season on a high note. I believe players will now be hungrier for goals as they take aim at the golden boot award,” he said.
The Machache Meats sponsorship package is valued at $2 000.
The company’s director, Lodias Machache, said while they would have loved to continue sponsoring a tournament, the tough economic environment had led them to unveil a different sponsorship package.
He encouraged the players to work hard and embrace professionalism.
“If one wants to be crowned as a soccer star then they should show professionalism and sportsmanship. It takes hard work in the form of training, discipline and motivation to win the race. If you work hard with patience, I believe the thought of victory, the vision of winning and the hope of being a star will keep you going,” he said.
Another Machache Meats director Rosemary Machache expressed hope that the awards will motivate the footballers while the prizes would enable them to plan for the future.
“We believe the motivation the awards provide will spur on the players to produce their best on the field enabling them to go higher in football. We are aware the economy is tight but we would like to see more footballers utilising their income in a positive manner that would give them comfort even when they have finished with their careers,” she said.
Zifa vice-president Omega Sibanda was full of praise for the Southern Region executive saying they were working well in bagging sponsorships.
“I feel with unity within football we can go far and you can see how the Southern Region is attracting sponsorship. If the leadership is united then we can produce amazing results. We should desist from perpetually engaging in football politics but rather focus on marketing those who would have shown faith in us by funding the game,” he said.
All the teams in Division One will be given an opportunity to vote for their best 11 players and coach but would not be allowed to vote for their own players.
There will be a 2015 calendar featuring the Southern Region soccer stars, courtesy of the sponsors.
Online Reporter