Latest News Editor's Choice


Sports / Local

'I'm the best man for PSL job,' says Dube

by Staff reporter
04 Mar 2016 at 15:34hrs | Views
Highlanders chairperson Peter Dube says he is the best man to take the Premier Soccer League forward and is confident he will beat his Dynamos counterpart Kenny Mubaiwa in Saturday's election.

The PSL chairperson post became vacant after new Zifa president Philip Chiyangwa ordered the league to hold elections to replace Twine Phiri, who was a member of Cuthbert Dube's board which had its mandate revoked last year.

Speaking to the Daily News yesterday, Dube said nothing will stop him from winning the poll as he is armed with the necessary requirements coupled with experience in mainstream football administration.

"I think I do qualify in terms of the demands and requirements hence my nomination has gone through the nomination process," he said.

"Confidence can only be indicated by submitting myself for judgment. I'm confident since my colleagues gave me the blessings to be at the helm."

Dube was Phiri's vice chairman during a successful period for the PSL which saw the league solidify their sponsorship agreements with Delta Beverages, SuperSport and NetOne.

The Bosso boss believes this impeccable track record gives him an edge over Mubaiwa when the 16 PSL clubs vote this weekend.

"As a vice chairman to Phiri; we worked very well and the results are there for everybody to see," he said.

If elected into office, Dube says he is a champion of sharing responsibility and promises to work with all clubs to develop the league.

"I want to share my experience which I have continuously shared with many football stakeholders," he said.

"If you understand how the PSL is run or governed; it has titles of 16 sitting members. In that regard, I should bring you to the role of a chairman which is directing policy.

"We have a fully-fledged secretariat which has not performed badly; the chairman's role is to give policy and direction so my key area is adherence as well as observing that things are done to expectation.

"But that does not blind me to say there is no innovation, but generally everything is discussed and agreed to by all the governors.

"It's more to do with interaction and makes it easier for everyone to work and attend to matters pertaining to football."

Most PSL teams have been dithering on implementing Club Licensing requirements prescribed by the Confederation of African Football and Fifa.

Dube believes the current economic climate in Zimbabwe has hampered this process but as the PSL chairperson, he will try to speed up the transition.

"I don't think there has been a slow take off on Club Licensing; I think like most processes we try to put in place, the economic environment is a major factor," he said.

"Part of Club Licensing interrogates the financial end of things and if we were to talk of my club (Highlanders) we are ahead. I'm not saying we are there but we are proud to have met the basics of Club Licensing as a club."

Dube added: "We would want Club Licensing to be embraced as quickly as possible but taking into account the circumstances that the majority of our clubs are operating in, even those that we may say are financially resourced, you will agree with me that their structures lack the full independence to actually attend to football matters in the manner that Club Licensing detects should be the case."

"It's a topic that everybody agrees to as the way forward and I think it's now just a matter of tying up loose ends."

With most clubs failing to break even, after home matches due to the high levies asked by local authorities for stadia rentals and service providers, Dube accepts that an urgent indaba is required to find a solution.

"It's a situation that could be helped if negotiations were to be held to have those rates or levies lowered," he said.

"It requires engagement and those engagements need to recognise the situation that compels those service providers to levy us.

"We don't want to kill the standards of our facilities by blindly lowering rates, so it could be good if a compromise can be reached through stakeholder engagements and to try and come up with a win-win situation for everybody."

Source - dailynews