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Ricky Zililo, Senior Sports Reporter
THE Premier Soccer League has proposed competitions to kick off on the weekend of May 15-16, according to a roadmap sent to clubs.

In a memorandum titled “Proposed football resumption roadmap”, PSL chief executive officer Kennedy Ndebele proposed that Covid-19 tests to pave way for training be done between May 25 and April 2.

Zifa had promised to take care of Covid-19 tests costs, but the PSL said clubs that have capacity to conduct the tests have to apply to the league for the green light.

The Covid-19 tests will be done by club doctors under the supervision of the PSL medical committee which will be expanded to a panel of 10 medical doctors.

According to the PSL, the Covid-19 tests have to be done at least 48 hours prior to commencement of training then after every 14 days.

Players and officials that test positive for Covid-19 will be required to isolate as per Government guidelines.

The move to deploy the PSL medical committee was necessitated by a delay in submitting information that was noted last year when Government gave a provisional green light for the return of football.

Some clubs took more than two weeks to test and submit results, something that the league wants to avoid so that resumption is smooth.
Registration of players will be done from April 1, with the deadline set for May 15.

In the build-up to May 15, the league has banned friendly matches, meaning that during their pre-season training, teams will have to keep up with in-house games.

The PSL has also proposed a cluster competition, which will be hosted in four cities, with teams playing in groups.

Teams will be placed in four groups, with Pool A made up of six teams, Caps United, Dynamos, Harare City, Herentals, Yadah and ZPC Kariba.

Pool B will consist of Bulawayo teams Bulawayo Chiefs, Bulawayo City, Chicken Inn and Highlanders, while Manica Diamonds, Tenax, Black Rhinos and Cranborne Bullets make up Pool C.

Pool D who will be based in Zvishavane and will be made up of FC Platinum, Ngezi Platinum Stars, Triangle United and Whawha.

In an earlier proposal, the PSL said the competition will be played in a round-robin format, with top teams from the respective groups proceeding to the semi-finals.

The winners will face off in a final to be staged at a venue to be agreed with the sponsors.

All matches will be played behind closed doors. — @ZililoR