FC PLATINUM have hinted that they might fail to take up the offer to represent Zimbabwe in the Caf Champions League over lack of funding and ill-preparedness.
BY TAWANDA TAFIRENYIKA
The prestigious continental tournament has been rescheduled to match the European calendar.
The defending champions were picked to represent the country in the Caf Champions League, while Harare City, who won the Chibuku Super Cup, were given the opportunity to play in the Caf Confederations Cup.
Caf recently agreed to change the calendar for the two competitions so that it is aligned with the European calendar. The 2018-19 edition of the competition will commence in December and will run until May next year, but the submission of the squads for the competition will be done in October.
As from next year, the competition will assume the August to May schedule.
The local league, which still has 14 rounds of matches to play, can only declare a new champion who automatically qualifies to represent the country in the Champions League at the end of the season, which is set to be concluded in November.
The same goes for the Chibuku Super Cup winners, with the competition also set to finish in late November.
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However, FC Platinum spokesperson Chido Chizondo said they were yet to make a decision on their participations.
“There are a number of factors to consider first before a decision can be made. As you are aware, we need to strengthen the team and we only have the January transfer window to sign players. So the question is: Will we be able to sign players at short notice?
“Then there is also the issue of finance. What are the sponsors saying? They shareholders are meeting and deliberating over the issue. It’s possible they may say we cannot take up the offer, so we just have to wait,” she said.
Should they accept the offer, the platinum miners will be out to atone for a disappointing show in the tournament this year after they bowed out in the preliminary stages following shocking back-to-back defeats against Deportivo de Agosto of Angola.
