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Ricky Zililo, Senior Sports Reporter

TEAMS will use the two-week Afcon finals break to strategise or reinforce their squads before Castle Lager Premier Soccer League action resumes next month.

League action will resume on July 6, six days after the opening of the mid-season transfer window.

In an act of solidarity with the Warriors who are participating at the Afcon finals in Egypt, the PSL announced a break, as the 18 board of governors are all set to fly out to the North African country for the continental football showpiece.

Zifa has facilitated an all-expenses paid trip to the Afcon finals in Egypt for all its councillors, including the 18 PSL board of governors, and they will travel in two batches, with the first set to leave today.

Zifa councillors are expected to leave tomorrow and arrive in time for the Warriors’ opening game against hosts Egypt on Friday evening.

Most PSL teams have given their players a break, with the hope that they return reinvigorated at resumption of the campaign.

Champions FC Platinum, championship contenders Chicken Inn and Highlanders are among clubs that have given their players a break.

FC Platinum’s pair of defensive midfielders Rainsome Pavari and Kelvin Madzongwe were spotted working out at a Bulawayo gym yesterday.

FC Platinum had a busy schedule working while other teams were off-season due to their participation in the Caf Champions League.

Norman Mapeza, the FC Platinum head coach, highlighted on numerous occasions that his players were running out of gas to carry them through.

Highlanders’ coach Madinda Ndlovu said: “We’re taking a week-long break and we will regroup next week. This is a time to re-energise and restrategise.”

Bosso go into the break bubbling with confidence following their 1-0 triumph over perennial rivals, Dynamos.

Highlanders hope players that have been on the sidelines because of injuries – Bukhosi Ncube, Charlton Siamalonga and McClive Phiri – will use the break to regain their fitness.

Except for Phiri, who has three weeks before resuming training following a hand injury, Ncube and Siamalonga are expected to be available for selection when the league resumes.

Bosso’s first game after the break is against Ngezi Platinum Stars at Baobab in Mhondoro.

Chicken Inn coach, Joey Antipas, welcomed the break. “The break came at the right time because we have some players with knocks, while some need to recover from fatigue. We’re going for a week break and when we return we hope to be in fine shape,” said Antipas.

Chicken Inn drew 0-0 against Triangle United and will face Mushowani Stars when matches resume. Dynamos and bottom of the table Bulawayo Chiefs are not breaking. The two have indicated they want to “fix” their squads so that they effectively compete.

“The break gives us a chance to work on certain things because the quality at Dynamos right now isn’t what is usually associated with a big brand like Dynamos. Most of these boys are playing at this level for the first time and they’ve done well by certain standards to carry the team, but we’ve been honest with ourselves that this is not the material we want. To compete effectively, we will need to bring five players to steady the ship and then try to compete effectively,” said Dynamos coach, Tonderai Ndiraya.

Dynamos will be home to Chapungu after the break. The two teams lost their respective games last weekend, with Chapungu going down 1-2 at home to Yadah.

Chiefs’ trainer, Thulani Sibanda, who saw his charges’ dominance over FC Platinum going to waste as they lost 3-0, said: “We’re not breaking. Actually we will use this period to reinforce our squad and try to work on our team. There are 18 days before the next game so we prefer to manage activity levels here rather than give the guys a break.”

Chiefs are hoping to register defender, Felix Moyo, midfielder Desire Shumbanhete and former Bulawayo City goalkeeper, Aaron Ngwenya during the break.

Table 

                  P W D L F A GD Pts

FC Platinum 12 7 3 2 15 5 10 24

Chicken Inn 12 7 2 3 19 7 12 23

Caps United 12 7 2 3 23 15 8 23

Black Rhinos 12 6 4 2 14 10 4 22

Chapungu 12 5 4 3 15 11 4 19

ZPC Kariba 12 5 3 4 8 10 -2 18

M/Diamonds 12 4 5 3 12 10 2 17

Ngezi Platinum 12 4 5 3 10 9 1 17

Harare City 12 5 1 6 15 15 0 16

Herentals 12 3 6 3 9 8 1 15

Triangle United 12 4 3 5 14 15 -1 15

Dynamos 12 4 3 5 7 9 -2 15

Highlanders 12 3 5 4 6 9 -3 14

Hwange 12 4 2 6 9 15 -6 14

TelOne 12 2 6 4 8 11 -3 12

Yadah 12 3 3 6 9 16 -7 12

Mushowani 12 2 3 7 12 17 -5 9

Byo Chiefs 12 2 2 8 10 23 -13 8

— @ZililoR