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Ricky Zililo, Senior Sports Reporter
THE four facilities to be used for the Premier Soccer League’s (PSL) mini-league tournament, whose kickoff has been postponed by a week, passed the initial stage of inspection conducted by Zifa’s First Instant Board (FIB).

The National Sports Stadium, Barbourfields Stadium, Mandava Stadium and Sakubva Stadium were identified as venues that will host the PSL’s round robin tournament.

The Premiership clubs were placed into four pools for the tournament, with Pool A made up of Caps United, Dynamos, Harare City, Herentals, Yadah and ZPC Kariba set to play their matches at the National Sports Stadium, while Barbourfields will be home to Pool B made up of Bulawayo Chiefs, Bulawayo City, Chicken Inn and Highlanders.

Pool C has army sides Black Rhinos and Cranborne Bullets, as well as Manica Diamonds and Tenax and they will play their matches at Sakubva Stadium, with Mandava Stadium playing host to Pool D that has reigning league champions FC Platinum, Ngezi Platinum Stars, Triangle United and Premiership returnees Whawha.

Xolisani Gwesela, the Zifa spokesperson, who is also a member of the FIB, said they had given a positive assessment of the four facilities.

“When we carried out the first round of stadium assessments, the four facilities were in a good state. We spoke with the PSL today and we shall conduct another round of inspections so that we see if the areas that were highlighted were attended to, so that the league gets clearance to use the venues,” said Gwesela.

In March, the FIB, which is responsible for certifying stadia for PSL matches, noted that most stadia are in a deplorable state.
Stadium owners were notified of what needed to be done before the next round of inspections, which should be before the season kicks off. — @ZililoR