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Lovemore Zigara in Gweru
THE Zifa Central Soccer League (CSL) season is set to kick-off on March 17 following its annual general meeting in Gweru at the weekend.

CSL is set to have 18 teams this season and league chairman Stanley Chapeta said to avoid clubs being expelled during the course of the season, they had resolved that all clubs pay affiliation fees in full by the end of this month.

“We had a fruitful AGM where we agreed as clubs to kick-off the season on March 17.

“We also resolved that all clubs have to pay their affiliation fees in full by February 28,” said Chapeta.

“We want to avoid a situation whereby some clubs pull out or are expelled from the league due to non-payment of affiliation fees.

“We also resolved that the clubs should present their budgets for match officials before the start of the season after we realised that some clubs were in the habit of not settling their dues with referees.”

Since the inauguration of the regional league in 2010, some clubs have pulled out of the league midway through the season due to financial challenges.

However, clubs this year will be cushioned after the CSL secured a $45 000 sponsorship from a Gweru-based medical aid company.

The Zimbabwe Medical Aid General Fund is set to bankroll this year’s league and the sponsorship package is set to be unveiled early next month.

The only other time that the region secured sponsorship was in 2010 when Gweru-based electrical company Kayzed Sales injected $20 000.

A three-year technical sponsorship with a South African-based sports management company Impact Capital Alliance Sports Africa (ICA) fell through last year for unexplained reasons.

@lavuzigara1