HARARE City have been given a lifeline to bounce back into the Premier Soccer League, following How Mine’s withdrawal from the top-flight soccer league.
BY FORTUNE MBELE
The Sunshine City Boys were relegated from the country’s elite football league last year and were preparing themselves for Division One football.
How Mine on Wednesday announced they were pulling out of the league to concentrate on other corporate social responsibility programmes.
The Premier Soccer League yesterday issued a statement on the gold miners’ withdrawal, saying the league’s emergency committee had made a resolution that Harare City, who ended last season on position 15 on the log-table be granted the slot left by How Mine.
The offer can be extended to Hwange if Harare City do not take it up.
“The Premier Soccer League would like to advise its stakeholders that How Mine Football Club has withdrawn from the Premier Soccer League. How Mine has been a member since 2013. The PSL emergency committee, at its meeting held on Saturday February 25 2018 resolved to replace How Mine FC with Harare City FC which finished in 15th place in the 2017 Castle Lager Premier Soccer League season. In the event that Harare City are unable to take up the slot left by How Mine, the team that finished on 16th position (Hwange) will be considered,” reads the PSL statement.
How Mine were promoted into the Premier Soccer League in 2013, together with Harare City.
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The gold miners struggled financially last year and at one time most of their senior players went on strike and then coach Kelvin Kaindu was forced to use a second string side that was clobbered 6-0 by Dynamos at Barbourfields Stadium.
Kaindu also left the team to join his native Zambian side Power Dynamos, when he still had a year to his contract.
Before their withdrawal from the top league, How Mine had elevated assistant Bekithemba Ndlovu to the position of head coach with a number of senior players having hit the road to join other clubs.
Only Makundika Sakala, Milton Ncube and Kudakwashe Musharu were still at the club before it disbanded.
In their five years in the top league, How Mine were coached by Philani Mabhena, Philani “Beefy” Ncube and Kelvin Kaindu at different intervals.
