. . . Announcement expected this week

DELTA Beverages have agreed to renew their sponsorship package for the Premier Soccer League and the announcement is expected this week. The 2017 fixtures are also expected to be released after the sponsorship deal is announcement.

There were fears that Delta Beverages would not renew the contract which expired in December last year following an ugly fallout between the PSL and the football mother body over the relegation promotion issue.

The impasse has since been resolved and its now official that 18 teams will participate in this year’s top flight league.

Although PSL communications manager Kudzai Bare did not comment about the sponsorship deal, The Sunday Mail heard from a source who attended yesterday’s Annual General Meeting that Delta Beverages had agreed to prolong their marriage with the top flight league.

“Yes, the issue of sponsorship was topical and it was revealed that the sponsor (Delta Beverages) will be with us once again.

“The official announcement will be made on Wednesday or Friday,” the source said.

Delta Beverages are expected to maintain their sponsorship package that stood at $600 000 per season for the last three years.

The meeting also touched on security and club licensing issues with all clubs now required to have an office, media and security officers.

At the same meeting, Premiership returnees Bantu Rovers and Shabanie Mine were given seven days to pay PSL affiliation fees amounting to $ 9 200 each failure of which they will face severe sanctions from the league.

“Seventeen governors attended the meeting but Shabanie and Bantu were only observers because they are not yet full members of the PSL.

“They were given seven days to comply,” said Bare.

Harare City were not represented as the club chairman Alois Masepe is out of the country on a business trip.

“On the issue of relegation and promotion at the end of the season we will be guided by the football mother body ZIFA,” added Bare.

ZIFA and PSL locked horns over the relegation promotion issue after the mother body ordered that four teams be relegated and the same number promoted from the four Division One regions.

The PSL were adamant that two teams would go down and the same number up.

The impasse dragged on and forced Delta Beverages to issue a stern statement of disappointment in December.