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Ricky Zililo, Senior Sports Reporter
RESUMPTION of football in the lower leagues is now in motion, with the four regions agreeing to start in June, with the winners set to be promoted to the Premier Soccer League.

The four regions, Eastern, Central, Northern and Southern, which oversee the Division One and Division Two leagues, met in Kwekwe on Saturday where they agreed to start games on June 12.

The regional executive members said it is only fair that they promote teams into the topflight, and with the PSL set to play a mini-league tournament, it remains to be seen how the Premiership will tackle the issue of relegation and promotion.

“Everything is in motion and on May 1-2, regions will have their annual general meetings. The regions agreed to come up with a roadmap for Division One and Division Two leagues so that it will be presented to the Zifa executive committee that is due to meet the following week.

“One interesting thing from the Kwekwe meeting is that regions were unanimous that the winners of the First Division Leagues will be promoted to the Premiership according to the constitution. You know clubs have been yearning to restart,” said Zifa Southern Region board member Fiso Siziba, who attended the meeting.

The regions said appointment of Covid-19 compliance officers for clubs starts today and ends on April 25.

From April 26-30, regions proposed training of compliance officers by the Zifa medical committee.

The clubs will then be briefed on all protocols for resumption of the game at their respective AGMs that are scheduled for May 1-2.

They assigned regions to attach rules and regulations that will guide clubs.

Testing of players, technical teams and support staff is set for May 3. The regions said Zifa will meet costs associated with Covid-19 tests.

However, clubs have to be ready to do their own tests as PSL clubs ended up bankrolling their Covid-19 tests since Zifa was moving at snail’s pace to assist in that regard.

The Northern Region was assigned to engage MARS and Red Cross so that they negotiate for a cheaper testing package.

Clubs were also encouraged to vaccinate.

If Zifa gives the green light to regions’ proposal, teams are expected to start training on May 5, with registration set to open from May 1-31. — @ZililoR