Premier Soccer League (PSL) bosses have vowed that the Castle Lager premiership will kick off next week even without representatives from the ZIFA Eastern Region Division One whose winners are yet to be determined.
Speaking on the sidelines of the renewal of a sponsorship deal between the PSL and Delta Beverages through their Castle Lager brand in Harare on Thursday, 22 February, Jere said it won’t be novel for a club to have outstanding matches during a season as it has happened elsewhere. He said (via H-Metro):
We are going to start our matches in the first week of March. The season will be opened by the Castle Challenge Cup which kicks off this weekend and it will be followed by the league matches next week. What does that mean?
It means that the team that is going to come from Eastern Region Division One which hasn’t been availed to us by ZIFA as yet, will have outstanding matches. It is very common everywhere, even in Europe.
We cannot stop the league because the reason why we planned an early season kick-off is to avoid fixture congestion along the way as well as accommodate international fixtures given that some of our teams in the league will also be playing in the African Safari.
We put all those things into account to then say let’s start our league early so that we accommodate all that.
The 2023 ZIFA Eastern Region Division One season ended amid controversy after the runners-up, Bikita Minerals, accused Grayham of using an ineligible player. The match had ended in a 1-1 draw.
Tenax won the title on the final day of the season after a thumping victory over Rusitu Tigers 6-1 and automatically won the sole ticket into the Premiership.
Bikita Minerals was awarded three points and a 3-0 scoreline by the Eastern Region league following their complaint against Grayham.
The awarding of the points placed Bikita Minerals on top of the log standings, and Tenax in second position. Tenax had finished a point above Bikita Minerals.
ZIFA had initially unilaterally endorsed the Eastern Region board’s decision to promote Bikita Minerals but later backtracked on its earlier decision after Tenax lodged a late appeal.
The Appeals Committee pushed the case to the Disciplinary Committee, who are scheduled to hear the matter this weekend.
