Blow for football return
THE Sports and Recreation Commission (SRC) has poured cold water on the prospects of a quick return of domestic football after demanding that players and officials be placed in a bio-bubble.
Football stakeholders had hoped that the SRC would allow football a special reprieve so that the Chibuku Super Cup could resume after it was halted for the second time last week.
But such hope now looks faint after SRC yesterday made the new demands after noting an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases among footballers and officials.
“The first half of the Chibuku Super Cup tournament covering the period April to mid-June 2021, 9 500 tests were done with four retaining positive results. This represented a positive infection rate of 0,042%.
“The second phase of the Chibuku Super Cup tournament which commenced mid-June until the suspension during the week ending Friday July 2, 2021, a total of 24 COVID-19 positive cases were detected from 1 100 tests,” the sports regulator said.
“This signified a positive test rate of 2,182% over a one-and-half week period and an absolute increase in numbers of 51.8 times.
“Consequently, two Chibuku Super Cup fixtures: Harare City FC v ZPC Kariba FC and Ngezi Platinum Stars FC v Triangle United FC had to be postponed by the organisers as a way of mitigating the risk of spreading infections.
“The increase in the number of positive tests outlined above represent an increase of 600% between the first phase of the tournament which lasted for two-and-ahalf months and the second phase which lasted for two weeks.
Therefore, the first phase contributed 14% of the total positive cases as compared to the second phase which contributed 86% of the total positive infections albeit in a twoweek period.”
SRC added: “The above statistics underscore the fact that without placing footballers and officials in a bio-secure bubble, the immediate return of premier league football in the present environment is simply not possible. A positive player risks infecting team-mates, close family members and subsequently, the community.
“It is clear that any return to top flight football at this stage can only happen if a full bio-secure bubble environment is implemented where players and officials reside in controlled environments for the duration of the tournament.
“This is the position implemented by cricket and rugby, among other protocols, leading to the various exceptions granted to them in the present environment.”
Only a handful of teams in the top-flight can afford to place players in a bio-bubble for weeks.
Probably, it may be easy for army teams Black Rhinos and Cranborne Bullets as well as wealthier sides FC Platinum and Ngezi Platinum Stars.
Teams such as Dynamos, Caps United and Highlanders have been experiencing financial challenges and are unlikely to afford such an arrangement.