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Tadious Manyepo
Sports Reporter
ZIFA president Felton Kamambo says the association have already begun consultations with a view to start the 2021 season in mid-February.
The local football mother body are also making their case for fans to attend matches when the 2021 term starts.
Football was cleared to start by authorities a fortnight ago, under strict supervision after a seven-month coronavirus-induced hiatus.
But, the strict conditions given by the authorities mean most of the teams are still to commence group training ahead of the proposed two-week tournament in a secure bio-bubble next month.
Kamambo said the association will need a helping hand to take care of the bio-bubble.
“When we were given the green-light to start group training following our application to do so, we then decided that all stakeholders, including ZIFA and PSL, will contribute financially towards the bio-bubble,” said Kamambo.
“As ZIFA, we are committed to that but we may not be able to put much into it given the significant resources we have been pouring towards the national teams.
“The Mighty Warriors and the Under-17 women’s teams are involved in the COSAFA tournament scheduled to begin this week in South Africa.
“All the logistics involved have been addressed by ZIFA alone as we don’t have any sponsors at the moment.”
Kamambo said ZIFA are likely to charter a plane to Algeria for the 2021 AFCON qualifier against the African champions next week.
Zimbabwe take on the Desert Foxes in Algiers first, on November 12, before hosting the same opponents in Harare four days later.
The cost to charter a plane to Algeria will cost around US$150 000.
“We are currently running around preparing for the Warriors match against Algeria in Algiers and we have failed to secure commercial flights to Algeria,’’ said Kamambo.
“Instead, we will have to charter a plane to North Africa which will cost us a lot more.
“We currently don’t have any sponsors helping us out.
“What it means is that we may not be able to put much in the bio-bubble tournament as we will also use significant resources when we host the Algerians here.”
While the bio-bubble concept is hanging by a thread, due to logistical challenges, Kamambo revealed ZIFA were already working on starting the 2021 season early.
“The secretariat is already working on that. We intend to start the 2021 season early next year and we will stagger the start, for logistical purposes.
“We are also engaging the Government to possibly allow fans at the stadiums. We understand that most teams in the country heavily rely on gate-takings.
“It is against that background that we have decided to engage the authorities and see how best fans can be allowed at match venues.
“Most teams in the top-flight league, and lower divisions, are self-sponsored and they will simply struggle to survive the heat without fans.
“So, those are the two proposals we are pursuing. We really want to start the 2021 season early around mid-February.
“We also want to see fans coming back and be part of the fun.
“If the bubble-concept goes ahead, as is most likely, there will be no fans but when we start the season early next year, we should have them back.”
Meanwhile, Zimbabwe National Soccer Supporters Association director, Fortune “Giant’’ Bgwoni, says ZIFA should consider having theme parks where fans can watch the Warriors’ match against the Desert Foxes.
“The fans are not being allowed to watch the game from inside the stadium but we can have some theme parks where the fans can go and watch the match from giant television screens,’’ said Bgwoni.
“The Covid-19 regulations will be enforced in those theme parks.
“It will be some fun and it’s not every day that we get to play the African champions at home and we should make this a festival of happiness.’’
Online Reporter
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