The ManicaPost
Coleen Mbato Sports Correspondent—
ONLY if driven by the desire to adhere to the best practices, policies are supposed to be formulated and religiously followed if ever organisations, companies or even nations aspire to achieve their strategic imperatives. Our own local Premier Soccer League leadership cannot be an exception in embracing this contemporary global managerial culture. Yes, I know policies are not cast in concrete as changes can always be effected to cater for developments that come with the dynamisms of life — as we do that, a litany of factors must be considered before meaningful changes are instituted.
The Premier Soccer League leadership has been caught with pants down in this regard. For starters, the generality of Zimbabweans were made to understand that a resolution was passed last year to the effect that only two top-flight league teams will be relegated at the end of the 2016 soccer season, deviating from the traditional way of doing business whereby four teams used to face the dreaded chop. As a matter of policy, the nation was informed that two teams will reciprocally be promoted into the Premier Soccer League through play-offs. That was commendable so to say for I always believe there were genuine reasons cited warranting such changes.
Logically and without prejudicing any team, the Premier Soccer League should not be allowed to go on with their intended impromptu reversal of last year’s resolution at the penultimate stages of the competitions like this.
Honestly, what language are we portraying to the league’s sponsors, Delta Beverages as well as to the will-be sponsors?
We really cannot attract any meaningful financial investment into our soccer with this retrogressive approach. The only impact this unfamiliar decision will achieve is to take our standard of soccer plummeting. Everything having been said, I now make an appeal to ZIFA to sort out this issue amicably. It is my strong conviction that it is very unfair for the teams that are actively involved in the relegation matrix to just wake up relegated. The most affected teams as a result of this imminent somersaulting of policies are Mutare City Rovers, Chapungu and Tsholotsho because they rightfully believed and probably still believe that they have a mathematical chance of surviving the chop if the current log standings are anything to go by.
As a result of the uncertainty surrounding the issue, I personally exhort the ZIFA leadership to move in swiftly in breaking the impasse before real disaster strikes. Inasmuch as I acknowledge that the national soccer governing body is equally guilty of maladministration here and there, we still need its input in sanitising the situation.
Coleen Mbato is a university student, he writes in his own personal capacity
