Photography by Tapiwanashe N. Muza
Uncontested
The Financial Services Soccer League (FSSL) held its Annual General Manager (AGM) at ZB Sports Club on the 23rd of March 2019, ushering in a largely unchanged Executive Committee (EXCO) to run the affairs of the league for the next one year. Vice Chairman Titus Sanangurai, Secretary General Norbert Mhike and Fixtures Secretary Perkins Kamupira retained their positions while outgoing Treasurer Ivan Vambe was elevated to the post of Chairperson, replacing Kudzai Kwangwari who had served two consecutive terms. Kwangwari will however continue to work with the new executive as the Media Liaison Officer. Wisdom Mukaro, who was elected the new Treasurer, is the only new member of the executive. Interestingly, all the nominees were uncontested during the elections. The Executive Committee will be completed by representatives to be seconded from each of the FSSL clubs, seven of which were represented at the meeting.
For the 2019 season, which is expected to kick-off on the 13th of April 2019, the FSSL is aiming to increase the number of teams to 16. POSB committed to joining the league during the meeting, which they attended as an observer; and this means that the league has about three weeks to find the remaining five teams.
Affiliation Fees
The meeting agreed to review affiliation fees from $350 to $500 but this could be increased to $700 if the number of teams does not increase as desired. Payment of affiliation fees earns the FSSL teams an automatic ticket to the annual FSSL Paynet Cup Tournament, which was this year played as the season opener. In order to improve on discipline and enhance the smooth running of the league, the AGM mandated the executive committee to come up with a schedule of fines for those that contravene standing rules.
Quota System for Non-Staff Players
The AGM resolved to reduce the number of non-staff players that teams can register from the current six to five, with four being allowed to play at any given time. In a move that is meant to encourage participation of staff members in league soccer, the number of non-staff players is set to be further reduced to four during the 2020 season.
Changes to FIFA Rules
Support the Referee, the association that will provide refereeing services during the forthcoming season, was requested to arrange a seminar during which they will update the teams on changes to FIFA rules
In closing, incoming Chairperson Vambe, who won the FSSL league championship last year as Chairperson of CABS, congratulated the new executive committee members and challenged them to work hard in order to improve the league’s fortunes. He also thanked the outgoing chairperson, whom he said possessed a wealth of football knowledge which the new executive would continue to rely upon. Vambe also thanked SoundGarden Publishing, lauding it as an important partner of the league, for consistently working with the FSSL as a media partner since 2017. He urged the league members to support the company’s endeavours in aggregating and distributing financial sector information and also exhorted the teams to cooperate fully with SoundGarden’ s information requests pertaining to their participation in the league. ©MFSB Sport
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