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Robson Sharuko Senior Sports Editor
IN four years he branded the domestic Premiership with a blue-chip corporate partner, brought the cameras and OB vans of SuperSport to town and sealed a deal for the richest knock-out football tournament in the history of our national game.But Twine Phiri says he is only beginning, in a journey he wanted to last 10 years, but which now has to be completed in eight years.

Fresh from being given an overwhelming mandate to lead the Premier Soccer League, after a landslide win in the polls on Sunday, Phiri said the next four years will see the top-flight league consolidating the small, but significant, gains that it has made since he took over the hot seat in 2010.

Phiri told The Herald yesterday that his focus, in the next four years, will be on the following:

To try and lobby Government to introduce tax rebates that will make it attractive for companies to pour money into the Premier Soccer League in return for a relief from paying taxes.

To negotiate with Government to provide land to the PSL where the league, working with their partners, can build stadiums, starting with two in Harare and Bulawayo, where clubs can play their matches at vastly-reduced rates.

To use their partnership with SuperSport to boost the profiles of the local clubs to help them, through the power of television, to attract principal sponsors who can underwrite their chief costs like salaries for players and technical staff the way BancABC have partnered Dynamos and Highlanders.

To reach out to major leagues in Europe, starting with the Bundesliga where the league’s leadership have already established contacts following their visit to Germany last year, for a partnership that will bring direct financial and developmental aid to all the 16 clubs of the PSL family.

To make it mandatory that every team in the Premiership should have junior development structures and to find a sponsor, or sponsors, who can come in and sponsor league football for the Under-13s, Under-15s and Under-17s.

To strengthen the bond they have created with their major sponsors like Delta Beverages, through their Castle Brand, Mbada Diamonds, NetOne and BancABC and to ensure that the partnerships benefit both the sponsors and the clubs.

To work for the improvement of the welfare of the players, coaches and other technical staff so that they get a decent return, consistent with a professional footballer and coach, for being part of the PSL family.

To fight for the eradication of hooliganism at local top-flight matches and to re-package the games and make them attractive to families, many of whom have turned their back at the games because of violence.

Phiri, who thanked the PSL clubs for investing their confidence in his leadership qualities, said his mission was to try and get a flagship sponsor for each of the 16 teams in the PSL.

“What BancABC have shown us in the past few years, when they have taken Dynamos and Highlanders on board, as the main sponsor, is that once you have someone who takes care of the salaries of the players and coaching staff, it becomes a lot easier to run the clubs and it’s not just a coincidence that the two giants have been neck-and-neck, in the last two seasons, in the league championship race,” said Phiri.

“When you have the stability that a big sponsor brings on board, it becomes a lot easier to run the club and my mission is to try and help every club, in the PSL, to get a sponsor who can take care of the salaries for the players and their coaching staff and all the teams will have a major sponsor on the front of their shirts.

“Of course, they can’t all get the deals that are as good as the ones that Dynamos and Highlanders got but, for a start, it will be massive step for our clubs and it’s an area that I will pursue vigorously until we get everything in place.

“We now have our games on SuperSport and we hope to also get them on our national television and we believe  that the power of our appearance on television gives our clubs the magnet to attract companies who can come into their corner and partner them and this could be a big game-changer for our league.

“But, as the leader, I’m not only looking at the local picture, I am also looking at the bigger picture and we have to find partnerships with the big boys in Europe, which will be beneficial to our clubs, and we have already been to Germany, thanks to our partnership with SuperSport, and we will look at other possibilities.”

Phiri said his initial vision, for the leadership of the league, needed about 10 years for him to cover every aspect of his strategic plans but he was confident that in eight years he would have spearheaded a revolution, for the PSL, which people will appreciate 20 years from now.

“When we arrived on the scene, the league didn’t have a sponsor and many companies were concerned about coming into football because they felt it would leave them vulnerable to potential damage from the problems that usually erupt in our game,” said Phiri.

“But we managed to convince some major companies to come on board and when you get a company like Delta into your corner, you would have indirectly also convinced other companies that you can be a good partner because a big company like Delta carries influence in the market and has a great corporate reputation.

“However, we are not going to say that we did marginally well in the first four years, we have to use that success to try and become bigger and better as a league that generates tangible benefits for all its members and it’s a trip, in the next four years, which excites me and the guys that I will be working with at the PSL.”

Phiri also revealed, on ZBC’s weekly magazine football programme, GamePlan on Monday night, that their partnership with Delta, as the flagship sponsors of the league, will be reviewed and a new deal announced before the season starts in two weeks time.

A new 16-team knockout tournament will also be introduced this year for the top-flight clubs and Phiri said while the good health of the PSL was guaranteed, his focus would be to try and help the clubs so that they are not stalked by the financial challenges that sucked life out of Monomotapa and Motor Action last year.

CAPS United also had their financial challenges but Phiri said he was confident that his new board of directors will take care of the club and that will free him to concentrate on the affairs of the top-flight league.