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Ricky Zililo Senior Sports Reporter
ZIFA will tomorrow release names of people that will oversee elections for its five affiliates, the Premier Soccer League (PSL), Central Region, Eastern Region, Masvingo Province and Beach Soccer. Zifa chief executive officer Jonathan Mashingaidze said the PSL, Beach Soccer and Masvingo Province will hold their elections on March 5, with the Central and Eastern Regions conducting their polls the following day.

“Everything is set for the elections and the electoral committee has already deployed its members to various areas for purposes of monitoring and overseeing the voting processes.

“The names of electoral committee members that will be involved in these elections will be released on Wednesday,” said Mashingaidze.

It is, however, the PSL elections pitting Highlanders’ chairman and incumbent PSL vice-chairman Peter Dube and Dynamos president Kenny Mubaiwa for the top post which have attracted the most interest.

The PSL chairmanship fell vacant after Zifa ordered fresh elections following revocation of the previous national association board that had the league’s chairman Twine Phiri.

Despite the clubs backing Phiri, Zifa insisted that the former Caps United major shareholder could not stand because he was neither a club president nor chairman.

Both PSL candidates are confident of victory.

“The PSL work and activities are there for everyone to see what we’ve done. We’ve run a competitive league, tried to be as fair and administratively correct to every club. I’m not one of the people who say I’ve been asked by people to go there, I was in there, I know the work we were doing and I want to do it in the best interest of our game,” said Dube.

“I wouldn’t have put my name forward if I wasn’t confident. You must also agree that even if you’re confident, you’ve to subject yourself to some competition. In this race, I’m sure people have seen what I’m capable of. I’m not talking of strangers, I’ve been a governor for four years and I think my work and administrative capabilities are something my colleagues are aware of as I attend meetings with them all the time.

“I must actually be proud that I don’t run a small club, I run a big club but when it comes to administrative matters, I’ve never put my club ahead of other clubs. We do everything for all the clubs, we present a fair environment for everyone to compete in. It’s on that strength and all other factors put together that I believe I’ll still get the mandate of all other clubs to look after the PSL interests,” Dube said.

Mubaiwa, who lost the 2014 elections 3-13 to Phiri, says he has done his homework to win the trust of fellow board members.

“After guiding Dynamos to four league titles in five years, I feel it’s time for me to go to the next level and become the PSL chairman. I tried and failed in 2014, losing 3-13 to the outgoing Phiri, but this time around, I’m confident the tables will turn.

“Convincing the 10 or so clubs that denounced me in the March 2014 elections was always going to be a daunting task, but I’ve done my homework and I’m confident I’ll romp to victory,” Mubaiwa told our Harare Bureau.