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Ricky Zililo, Senior Sports Reporter
ALL Premier Soccer League (PSL) clubs are expected to submit copies of their players’ and officials’ Covid-19 vaccination cards today, as the push for the resumption of football intensifies.

The Chibuku Super Cup was abruptly halted by the Sports and Recreation Commission after Government tightened lockdown regulations amid a surge in Covid-19 cases in the country in the first week of last month.

Since then, football authorities have been exploring was of getting approval to resume the Chibuku Super Cup and start the league campaign safely.

The PSL reported last month that 16 of its 18 clubs had received their second jabs and were hoping the two remaining clubs would follow suit.

The PSL hopes that individuals that were reluctant to inoculate had taken heed of its advice and that from the Footballers Union of Zimbabwe (FUZ), and Government to vaccinate.

“Remember last month we had said we had 95 percent of our clubs that had vaccinated and through the memo we sent to clubs; we were requesting that they provide evidence in the form of vaccination cards. We want to compile a list based on actual data and attach the vaccination cards when we apply for the green light,” said PSL chief executive officer Kennedy Ndebele.

The PSL’s forecast at the beginning of the year when it drafted its submissions for the resumption of football included vaccination of players and officials as one of the key elements of the process, as a way of avoiding the costly bio-bubble route.

“If you may also recall, we included vaccination in our first proposal for the restart of football, which anchored on protocols and Covid-19 guidelines that we’ve been adhering to. We applaud clubs for getting vaccinated and one other thing to note is that as per Government policy, we’re not forcing anyone to vaccinate. We had to engage FUZ to assist in driving the vaccination message to a few of their members who were not comfortable with it,” said Ndebele.

The PSL has also been using its social media platforms to spread Covid-19 testing and vaccination awareness. — @ZililoR