Tenax ready for PSL action
ALTHOUGH Zifa is yet to pronounce themselves on the fate of the 2023 Eastern Region Division One championship, Tenax chairman Stefani Masina says they are ready to bounce back into the top flight if they win their case against the region.
A verdict from Zifa is expected any time soon after the hearing of submissions was closed last week on Tuesday.
Tenax thought they had won the championship on a dramatic final day last year after a comfortable win while rivals Bikita Minerals and FC Wangu Mazodze were held to draws.
However, a boardroom decision by the Zifa Eastern Region Division One executive gave Bikita Minerals maximum points from their match against Grayham.
This then gave Bikita Minerals the ticket into the Premier Soccer League ahead of Tenax, who then took the fight to Zifa.
Tenax are confident they have a solid case against the Zifa Eastern Region Division One leadership and hence the preparations for a return to the Premiership.
Speaking to Zimpapers Sports, Masina said: “We are ready for topflight. We have been preparing all this time knowing that we have been robbed of our Championship.
“All our preparations were made targeting top-flight. If the unfortunate happens and we have to turn out in Division One, it means our level of preparation will be unfair to the other teams.
“We understand that we finished the league as the best team on the field of play and when we were given an ear we were confident that we were going to have justice on our side as we believe that the Eastern Soccer Region League did not rightfully handle the issue.”
Masina said the team might see a few players added to the squad as there is overwhelming interest by those ready to join Tenax in the Premiership.
“We have several players who are on standby and ready to join the team if the verdict comes our way. “Some players want to always associate their names with the topflight teams and won’t afford to turn to the lower division side.
“We have them on our tabs but I can reveal that we have no big names linked to our side and if it all goes our way we will see what we can do.”
Masina believes that the club and the community will benefit a lot if Sakubva is given the green light to host top-flight matches.
“If you look at Sakubva it was inspected on Tuesday and we are hopeful that it meets the expected standards for it to be homologated.
“Tenax is from Mutare and it has attributed all its success and history to the people of Mutare. Sakubva has always been our preferred home and it will be always unfair for the club to play somewhere as it will deprive people of Mutare the entertainment and the business that comes with all these games.
“For the team, we need the fans more than anything else. Without them we are weak, and above all playing home away from home has more costs and will see players suffering from fatigue.”
Masina also said they are set to maintain their technical team which is led by Luke Petros.
“We have no intentions to alter our technical team as we have faith in them unless there are any guidelines or regulations from PSL that will some of our members not match,” he said.