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Sikhumbuzo Moyo, Senior Sports Reporter 

Having painfully crushed out of the Caf Champions League following a crushing defeat to Tanzanian side Simba SC last Wednesday, FC Platinum have now applied to the Government for a special waiver to begin preparations for their Confederation Cup play-offs.

The Zimbabwe champions were drawn against Senegalese outfit Association Sportive et Culturelle Diaraf ( ASC Diaraf) in a two-legged clash where the winner will qualify for the mini-league phase to be in the race for the US$1.25 million winners’ prize money.

Qualification for the mini-league phase has a guaranteed prize of US$275 000, while US$350 000 goes to teams that get knocked out at the quarterfinal stage, with US$450 000 going to losing semifinalists and losing finalists getting US$675 000.

National associations like Zifa have a five percent share of whatever amount a team gets from the inter-club competitions.

“We have made a formal application to the authorities through Zifa and are hopeful that our application will be successful,” said Pure Platinum Play spokesperson Chido Chizondo.

The first-leg against the Senegalese will be at the National Sports Stadium on February 14, with the return leg in Dakar a week later.

FC Platinum must lay a perfect foundation for the return leg by making sure they post a resounding victory.

Hopes will also be high that the club will not suffer the agony of having its players and officials testing positive for Covid-19 after going through the agony in Tanzania where five players were initially positive before the number increased to six, with three officials also testing positive.