Branton Matondo
With only one match day left before this year’s edition of Central Region Soccer League (CRSL) ends, the state of affairs in the highly contested league has reached another level following an official appeal by telecommunications side TelOne over irregularities emanating from registration procedures of former Caps United player Tawana Chikore by Sheasham FC.
Following investigations carried out by the Gweru based outfit on the legitimacy and true whereabouts of Chikore’s registration details, TelOne FC secretary Artwell Manyudza highlighted that the player traded teams, playing for Sheasham before the opening of second registration period.
The second window period was slated for July 1, 2022 and the law in line with arguments raised by TelOne confirms that a player is not supposed to play for two clubs during the same window.
“Tawana Chikore was irregularly registered to play for two clubs during the same window period.
“Declaration was that Tawana Alexander Chikore was ineligible to play for Sheasham before the opening of the second registration period on July 1, 2022 and deduction of points from matches 15, 16, 17, 18 and 19 in which the player participated in as per order 36.1.4 which states that ‘use of an unregistered/ ineligible player in league match, three points will be deducted and thrown away and a fine as set by the league from time to time,” read the argument.
TelOne club president Lloyd Mutetwa confirmed that the telecom-based side made an official appeal on the case but barred further comment.
”We can confirm that we appealed to the authorities but cannot comment any further on the matter,” he said.
However, Tawana Chikore’s case traces its roots back to Harare giants Caps United where he had signed a two year contract under his agent Kudakwashe Garufu’s guard ship.
“It was a two year contract and as per our agreement, the club was supposed to pay up the signing on fee but failed. They even failed to pay up his February salary and the winning bonus for the matches he played,” said Garufu.
An inquiry employed on the true whereabouts of the player’s registration indicates that he was registered with Caps United in February 2022 after signing a two year deal. The registration was done during the initial registration period which closed on March 31, 2022. TelOne have argued that Chikore was a registered player for Caps United who went on to take part in competitive matches contrary to the letter by the Premier Soccer League (PSL).
Evidence proving that Chikore was officially registered to Caps United was presented by TelOne in their official report.
“Alexander Chikore was a registered Caps United FC player when he played with Whawha on March 6, 2022 (National Sports Stadium); Manica Diamonds (Sakubva Stadium) (27/02/2022) as well as Black Rhinos (13/02/2022) copies attached (Annexures 3, 4 and 5),” read part of the report.
TelOne have since laid their contend on statutes provided for by ZIFA regulations on the status and transfer of players which details that a player may not be registered more than once during the window period (4.6).
Efforts to get a comment from Central region administrator Gift Nyapomwe were fruitless until time of publishing.
