‘Football set-up should be professional’
THE ZIFA club licensing committee say they are not trying to intimidate Premier Soccer League clubs but only want to professionalise the football set-up in the country.
Speaking at a workshop organised for PSL clubs in Harare yesterday, the committee’s vice-chairperson, Willard Manyengavana, said they understand some of challenges that are being faced by the clubs.
“We visited all but one stadiums that host PSL matches. Ideally, our intention when we were visiting these clubs was not to make life difficult for any club. The idea is to make sure that we professionalise football in Zimbabwe. When we visited some of the facilities being used by the PSL clubs, some of them were in very bad state.
“I could not believe some of the stadiums we were seeing, they cannot even host Division One matches in Northern Region.
“But I believe that after some meetings we had with stakeholders, clubs and the stadium owners, we believe that there is going to be a lot of improvement.
“Club licensing is here to stay and we all have to meet the minimum requirements in order for us to get the licences,” he said.
The administrator said only two clubs - CAPS United and Ngezi Platinum have met the minimum requirements.
Meanwhile, CAF have given ZIFA the greenlight to conduct nine CAF courses this year.
ZIFA spokesperson Xolisani Gwesela said the extensive programme comes at a time when the association was enforcing the standardisation of coaches’ qualifications for various levels of coaching.
“Bindura will host two courses - a CAF C Licence programme to be conducted between 22 April and 5 May and a CAF B licence from 5 December to 23 December.
“Four other CAF C Licence coaching courses will be held in Gwanda (7 May to 22 May); Mutare/Masvingo (5 June to 19 June); Mashonaland West (11 July to 25 July) and Bulawayo (7 October to 22 October).
“The first of the two CAF B Licences for this year will be held in Zvishavane from the 7th of May to the 22nd, while a CAF B equivalence course reserved for legendary players will be conducted in November, from the 7th to the 22nd,’’ said Gwesela.