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Ricky Zililo Senior Sports Reporter
CASTLE Lager Premier Soccer League received a blow over the weekend when the Zifa Assembly agreed to relegate four teams and promote the same number of clubs from the four regional Division One Soccer leagues.This means that 25 percent of the topflight teams will be chopped at the end of the league.

Last year during the Zifa constitution amendment exercise, Fifa advised the local football motherbody to set up a National First Division League which would be a feeder division to the Premiership but due to lack of resources, this is yet to happen.

The development no doubt would have seen Zimbabwe having probably a more competitive second half of the season in the PSL as the bottom four clubs at the moment Chiredzi, Bantu Rovers, Harare City and Triangle would fight to the end for survival fight.

The four teams which will be chopped at the end of the season will make way for respective winners from the Zifa Southern, Eastern, Northern and Central regions.

In a telephone interview yesterday, PSL chairman Twine Phiri who had told the Zifa Assembly that he had secured funding for the National First Division League beginning next year said they will push for Zifa to allow the PSL to take the responsibility running the affairs of that feeder league.

“Unfortunately democracy prevailed at the Zifa Assembly where councillors agreed to relegate four teams. There is nothing that we can do but to abide by what was agreed. What we are going to do is to run around and try to get funding for the National League because we need to avoid the high turnover of the Premiership to develop our soccer. Twenty five percent of the teams is too big a number to be relegated and even Fifa noted that.

“At first Zifa said they will handle the National League but now they have softened up which means as PSL we will have to meet and see how best to get sponsorship for that league just like what is happening in South Africa. No date has been set and we will require another extra-ordinary meeting to come up with the date as well as conditions for the National League,” said Phiri.

The Zifa Assembly is made up of 58 councillors with PSL clubs contributing 16 seats.

Their defeat is not a surprise as numerically they were overpowered by people who wanted to please their regional affiliates.

According to a Zifa newsletter, Peter Dube, the PSL vice-chairman set the ball rolling and told the Assembly that the relegation and promotion of four teams had created turmoil in the topflight division.

“We need to create a stronger league. The present relegation format is creating problems for the league. We need competitiveness hence the need to promote and demote only two teams. It is high time we embrace worldwide trends,” Dube argued.

Dube was supported by How Mine chairman Mlondolozi Nkomo who echoed the same sentiments.

“I totally concur with Mr Dube. All new teams being promoted into the league do not last more than three seasons. We need to solve this crisis. We as PSL can only afford to promote and relegate only two teams.”

However, Willard Manyengavana of the Northern Region and his Southern Region counterpart Musa Mandaza shot down the proposal.

“We as regional leaders want football to proliferate to all regions. We cannot afford play-offs. We demand that PSL relegate four teams and promote four teams,” Manyengavana said.

Mandaza said PSL clubs were products of regions and hence they should stick to the present format which Fifa shot down last year.

“All PSL clubs except for Caps United, Highlanders and Dynamos came from the regions and I am surprised that the same beneficiaries from regions now want to look down upon the same regions that enabled them to rise into the Premier League.

“We want PSL to relegate four teams and promote four from the regions, period,” Mandaza said.

The regional leaders want to use the matter as their stronghold on the clubs at the expense of  quality.

More competitive leagues in the world promote one or two teams from a competitive national league while in Zimbabwe as many as 64 teams some of whom by ranking could be as far below as fifth division if the teams were rated.