Uncertainty Mars Heroes Matches
ZIFA were by late yesterday yet to release information on the logistics surroundings the hastily-arranged Heroes Day commemoration matches, scheduled to be held across different venues around the country tomorrow.
The matches, which are being organised by the local football governing body and the ministry of Sports and Recreation, led to the cancellation of Premier Soccer League matches which had been scheduled for this weekend.
Zifa chief executive Joseph Mamutse told Standardsport in an interview yesterday that it was premature for the football mother body to make any statements regarding the games, which take place tomorrow.
“The position is that the games are going to be played. We are still discussing. It’s premature for me to comment right now. I don’t have much information. There is so much happening right now,” Mamutse said.
It was still not clear who would bear the costs of the matches, with the rules and regulations of the matches also yet to be spelled out much to the disappointment of the clubs.
Highlanders are supposed to lock horns with Dynamos in Harare tomorrow, with the Bulawayo giants also featuring in the Zimbabwe Defence Forces competition on Tuesday in the capital.
Highlanders’ CEO Nhlanhla Dube said he would not comment on the game, referring questions to the club acting chairman Modern Ngwenya.
Chicken Inn spokesperson Tavengwa Hara said they would stand guided by the Premier Soccer League (PSL).
“We will stand guided by the PSL in anything to do with that. We don’t know the rules and the regulations of the matches. We will abide by what the PSL is going to say,” Hara said.
The hastily-arranged matches have already plunged the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League, which is already facing a fixture backlog, into a deeper crisis.
PSL’s broadcast partners Supersport will also not be happy with the postponement of all matches to make way for hastily-organised heroes’ celebration matches as they had planned to broadcast two local Premiership matches this weekend for the first time in over a month.
BY SPORTS REPORTER
