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Petros Kausiyo Deputy Sports Editor
ZIFA are expected to end the uncertainty that has clouded the Premier Soccer League relegation puzzle when the soccer mother body makes a determination at their extraordinary general assembly meeting in the capital at the end of next month. The issue of the number of teams that will be demoted from the top-flight has for months caused friction between zifa and the Premiership, with the elite league insisting that they will only be demoting two teams at the end of the 2014 season.
zifa, on their part have, however, let the four regions — the Central, Eastern, Northern and Southern — to continue with the clubs in those Division One leagues expecting the champions to secure promotion to the PSL.
The matter, however, now looks set for finality with zifa chief executive Jonathan Mashingaidze, indicating in a brief statement yesterday that the matter would now come up for resolution at the their assembly meeting in the capital on July 26.
“I am glad to say that the ZIFA Assembly scheduled for next month will finalise the issue of the relegation format for the Premier Soccer League. As you are aware that the assembly is the highest parliament of football”, the Zifa Ceo told www.zifa.org.zw <http://www.zifa.org.zw> yesterday.
After letting the matter go on unattended for months, zifa and the PSL now find themselves under pressure to ensure a format is announced so that the clubs in both tiers of the national game are aware of what they are playing for.
zifa however, acknowledged that the PSL has for a long time now been lobbying for a reduction in the number of teams that should be demoted into Division One.
“Last year, the PSL leadership appealed to zifa to review the matter and have a reduction on the number of teams that would be relegated from the country’s elite league. PSL leaders felt that the current set up where four teams are demoted effectively amounted to the reduction of 25 percent of the teams from the league was too high and affected the competitiveness of local football.
“PSL also cited examples from most countries such as South Africa, Zambia and Botswana where not more than two clubs are relegated from the top flight.
“It is now incumbent on the zifa Assembly to work on the relegation modalities and come up with a final resolution on the matter and possibly consider the issue of play-offs too,’’ read the zifa website.
PSL chief executive Kenny Ndebele was yesterday adamant that the top-flight body was expecting that only two clubs would go down at the end of the Castle Lager programme.
Ndebele said although zifa would have the final word on the modalities of the relegation and promotion case, the league had made their submissions at different meetings including the fifa-sponsored Win in Africa with Africa workshop in Harare and when the association was amending its constitution.
“We had the fifa workshop Win in Africa with Africa where it was resolved that the PSL’s representation at the assembly was to be increased to 16. It was also agreed that there has to be a national Division One league when Fifa came in for the constitutional review meeting.
“So it is our understanding as a league that the matter is no longer an assembly issue but a matter that should be dealt with by the zifa board,’’ Ndebele said.
The PSL chief executive also argued that the elite league was failing to play a meaningful role in developing players for the national teams because of lack of continuity owing to the “huge chunk of clubs that have to leave the league at the end of every year’’.
“For us as a league if we are to play a key role in grooming players for the national team we cannot do that if we continue to have one quarter of the clubs leaving the Premiership and we have to induct four new teams to the competition every January.
“It compromises on the competitiveness of the PSL and while some may argue that we are sounding selfish the trend in most professional leagues worldwide is that at most two teams are relegated in our scenario, we now have teams just aiming for the top eight finish and to avoid being 13th on the log and below and that is not healthy,’’ said Ndebele.
With the PSL laying down a strong case on the relegation-promotion puzzle, zifa would have to come up with a workable solution although the long term plan should be the re-introduction of a national Division One League.
Given the tough economic environment, there has been a growing number of Division One teams that have struggled for viability and it is increasingly becoming an unnecessary burden to have 64 teams battling for promotion into the Premiership.
That the 2013 Central Region champions Chapungu had nine of their points coming from walkovers over opponents who failed to fulfil their fixtures is an indictment on the Division One Leagues.
This year, clubs such as Zimbabwe Saints failed to register players in the Southern Region which has now been decimated to 14 from 18 teams.
Online Reporter