Sukoluhle Ndlovu
THE Zifa Central Region Soccer League 2016 season is set to begin first weekend of April with 18 clubs, a move that is likely to further strain clubs that have been finding it difficult to fulfill their fixtures.
This was announced at the leaguea��s annual general meeting in Gweru on Sunday.
CSL acting chairman Patrick Hill said to ensure the smooth flow of the league all teams would be required to pay half of their affiliation fees by 14 February with the balance being settled by the end of the month.
a�?We resolved that we are going to run an 18-team league and we have asked clubs to pay 50 percent of their affiliation fees by 14 February and by 28 February they should have completed their payments,a�? he said.
a�?We want to do this so that we can prepare for the new season which will kick off on the weekend of 2 and 3 April,a�? added Hill.
Affiliation fees have been pegged at $2 800 for old clubs and $3 250 for new clubs.
He said clubs a�?with potentiala�? would be invited to join the league.
The acting chairman defended the increase in the number of teams from 16 to 18 despite the number of teams pulling out in previous seasons. His argument was that most teams did not pull out of their own volition but they were ejected for non-payment of affiliation fees.
Gaths Mine, Zvishavane Stars and Gweru City are some of the clubs which have pulled out of the league in recent years citing high operational costs.
The regiona��s indaba also saw the tabling of audited financial results for 2013, 2014 and 2015 and an extraordinary general meeting is going to be called to review and adopt the audited accounts.
a�?After the tabling of the financial results it was also agreed that we install an accounting system before the start of the season.
This is to put some control measures in the way we are going to handle our funds,a�? Hill said.
