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Eddie Chikamhi Senior Sports Reporter
GIANTS Dynamos say the postponement of the start of the league, as a precaution to stop the spread of coronavirus, is set to impact heavily on the club’s budget for the season.

Several clubs, who spoke to The Herald yesterday, said they had now been forced to go and take another look at their budgets following a two-month extension of the pre-season.

The Premier Soccer yesterday officially wrote to clubs informing them of the postponement.

DeMbare chairman, Isaiah Mupfurutsa, yesterday welcomed the move but bemoaned the adverse effects the coronavirus lockdown had on his team’s preparations.

“We started preparing for the season in January, with a certain schedule, as we anticipated that the league matches would start in March,’’ said Mupfurutsa.

“So, we invested a lot in the pre-season, beginning with the acquisition of the players.

“We also had training camps and team-building exercise. But the postponement means we have an extra two months of pre-season and more resources will be needed.

“As it stands, we cannot break training because we don’t know when this problem is going to be over.

“We need to keep our players fit, so the coaches will work on that.’’

Unlike in the past, when they had to rely entirely on gate takings, Dynamos have their sponsor Gold Leaf Tobacco to thank because all the players’ salaries will be paid under their five-year deal.

“Clubs get supplementary income from the gates, so when there are no games it means no additional income to take care of some of the operational costs we meet every day,’’ the DeMbare boss said.

“It will also affect our sponsorship as well because our budget runs for a year. If we spend more on the pre-season, it actually means we are now eating a chunk into our budget for the next season.

“And, the fact that there are no games going on, our sponsors will not be able to get mileage.

“It’s the same with the PSL sponsors.’’

Chicken Inn secretary, Tavengwa Hara, said clubs also had to face contract challenges with some players who have signed short-term deals that end in June, just when the league is expected to begin.

Hara believes players will also be deprived of winning bonuses and allowances.

“Soccer players, whose income is supplemented by bonuses and allowances, will lose out more,’’ he said.

“It is difficult for a football player in our country to wait until the end of the month for his salary.

“They will be required to come for training almost every day and the winning bonuses, travelling and camping allowances usually cushion them.

“There are also some serious repercussions on the issues to do with contracts which run from one transfer window to the other.

“We are more worried about the impact this move will have on the standard contacts that have been imposed on us.

“In our case, we have players whose contracts are set to expire in the June window.

“These are performance-based contracts but, for now, these guys are not playing. What are we going to do with those contracts?

“Imagine one who signed six months up to June?’’

He said some of the clubs could be at a disadvantage.

“It doesn’t make sense to pay a player his signing-on fees, and his salaries, in full during those six months only to play for just one month,’’ said Hara.

“Again, by that time a player will be eligible to sign a pre-contract with another club and the risks are huge.

“We understand the PSL were implementing a directive to postpone the games but we are very keen to hear what the league is going to say about this.’’

Black Rhinos secretary-general, Edward Mutukwa, said they will need to devise ways to keep afloat until the new dates are announced.

“We are in the midst of a health crisis, which no one of us can do anything about, and it has come with adverse effects on our preparations for the new season,’’ said Mutukwa.

“If you have been following us, we had picked the momentum and had reached a certain stage where we thought we were now ready for the season to start.

“The challenge now is to manage the gains and be able to maintain certain levels of fitness for our players without burning them out.

“Financially, it also means we have to fork out more to take care of the extended pre-season.

Remember we had already made some financial commitments by sending our team to Kariba on a two-week training camp.

“We also injected money into friendly matches against Dynamos and Highlanders. We have to devise ways to fulfil the obligation of paying players and staff their salaries.’’