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Eddie Chikamhi Senior Sports Reporter

THE stage is slowly shaping up for the 2023 Premier Soccer League season after the organisers announced the date and venue of the season-opening Castle Challenge Cup set for Mandava next month.

Reigning champions FC Platinum, who won the last four league titles on the trot, have a date against the Chibuku Super Cup winners Bulawayo Chiefs on their own turf on March 11.

The teams have since begun preparing for the contest, which is expected to usher in the new season of top-flight football in Zimbabwe.

The Premier Soccer League spokesperson, Kudzai Bare, said the cheapest ticket for children in school uniform has been pegged at US$1 while the rest of the spectators will fork out US$2.

The VIP ticket has been set at US$5 for the Challenge Cup.

FC Platinum have dominated the Castle Challenge Cup after winning all the editions since the tournament was first played in 2017. They have three Castle Challenge Cup titles to their name, in total.

The Zvishavane side lifted the inaugural edition when they beat Harare City 2-1 at Mandava in December 2017. They defended it in 2018 with a 2-0 win over Triangle United, again at Mandava.

The Castle Challenge Cup was not held in 2019 after the PSL resolved to shift the football contest, which from the onset had served as the last gig of the marathon, to a season-opening event.

FC Platinum faced Highlanders in the 2020 edition and emerged 2-0 winners. They pocketed 400 000 winners’ prize with Bosso taking home $250 000.

However, the organisers are expected to announce revised prize monies because of the currency fluctuations in the last few years.

Bulawayo Chiefs earned the Castle Challenge Cup ticket against four-time Premiership champions after beating Herentals 1-0 in the final of the Chibuku Super Cup last year.

Arthur Musiyiwa scored the solitary strike that gave the Bulawayo side their first silverware since their promotion to the topflight league in 2018.

Chiefs, who had a turbulent finish to the campaign due to player unrest over outstanding payments, have encountered glitches ahead of the pre-season.

The club suffered a player exodus that claimed some of their best talents like the Chibuku Super Cup hero Musiyiwa, who is now at Dynamos, along with defenders Kelvin and Elvis Moyo.

They have a new coach Lizwe Sweswe and the club have been battling to fill the vacancies in their squad after signing a number of players that include former Zimbabwe international Danny Phiri, William Stima, Ayanda Ncube and Stanson Khanye.

The platinum miners, in contrast, have been an oasis of peace for coach Norman Mapeza and his players. The platinum miners have retained the core of their squad, apart from releasing five players who were deemed excess to requirements.

They have announced the signing of former Dynamos winger Jarrison Selemani, ex-Triangle United fullback Misheck Ngwenya and Perfect Chikwende, who is returning to Zvishavane after two years.

PSL spokesperson Bare said they are expecting the Castle Challenge Cup to pave the way for a successful season.

The fixtures and dates for the new season, however, are still being worked on and will be released once all the important factors, including the match venues, have been attended to.

“We are still working on the fixtures for the new season and the dates and venues will be announced once all the important factors have been finalised.

“Currently, registration is going on well. We haven’t encountered any problem. At the beginning of the year, we asked all the teams to provide their registration documents, highlighting where they would prefer to play their home games, for planning purposes and also for inspection of the grounds.

“The inspections are on-going as we speak and in terms of the state of the grounds, the ZIFA First Instance Body, which is responsible for the inspections, will update the stakeholders.

“The stadiums have to be suitable for top-flight football. The First Instance Body will write reports to us and to the stadium owners so that we know if a ground meets the required standards and they will also highlight the areas that need fixing,” said Bare.

The PSL clubs have been busier during this pre-season compared to the previous years. The league has been joined by four new clubs that include Simba Bhora, Sheasham, Green Fuel and Hwange, who are returning three years after they had been relegated.

The clubs, both new and old, have been jostling to beef-up their stocks in preparation for the marathon.

“The transfer window closes on March 31. So far, we haven’t encountered any problems with the clubs. They have sent in their retainer lists as requested and they have continuously updated new players that they have signed. It’s important because every player has to be licenced by the time the season begins,” said Bare.

While the paperwork has so far gone according to plan, the PSL will need to up their game to win back the fans. Football matches were played in virtually empty stadiums last year as the local league struggled to come back post-Covid-19.

Attendances have been dropping even before the pandemic. The fans have raised a number of concerns including the declining standards of the game, Covid-19 fatigue and the costs of travelling to football matches.

Some football fans have suggested that gate charges should be reduced from US$3 to US$1.

However, the PSL have maintained that the US$3 for the cheapest ticket was a fair price considering what is obtaining in the region.