Harare — Econet Wireless have terminated their historic five-year sponsorship deal with the Premier Soccer League because of the persistent boardroom wrangles between the league and Zifa over the landmark package.

The local mobile phone network - who have been bankrolling the PSL through their pre-paid brand Buddie - announced yesterday that they were terminating their marriage with the top-flight league.

Econet will, however, honour all their commitments until the end of the season and advised the league that the grace period between now and December was meant to give the PSL enough time to look for an alternative sponsor.

The two parties entered into a five-year marriage in February when they struck a sponsorship package worth an initial $10 billion, which was subject to inflationary adjustments.

Apart from sponsoring the league championship, Buddie were also bankrolling the pre-season Charity Shield and a junior league while funding the restructuring of the PSL administration.

They were also committed to providing kit to all the 16 teams in the league.

At the start of this month, the PSL appointed former secretary-general Chris Sambo as chief executive to run the affairs of the league on a day-to-day basis while a finance and administration manager was also brought in under the Buddie package.

But yesterday Econet dropped a bombshell and said they were pulling out of the deal because of the never-ending feud between the PSL and Zifa, especially their fallout over the deal.

Last week, a Zifa disciplinary committee suspended the entire management committee of PSL after finding them guilty on two charges, one of which was their refusal to furnish the Zifa board with a copy of their contract with Econet Wireless.

"The action by Zifa and the subsequent media reports on the issue has brought the name of Econet into disrepute and we do not want to be involved," said Econet spokesman Sure Kamhunga.

Kamhunga said the Econet directors had reviewed the CAPS United saga and the latest developments between Zifa and PSL and concluded the sponsorship was bringing their name into disrepute.

CAPS United are sponsored by NetOne, through their Easycall brand, and a deal had to be struck to allow them to fulfil their fixtures wearing kit displaying their sponsors' logo.

"All we as Econet in Zimbabwe wanted to do was to help develop soccer in Zimbabwe in the same way our sister companies are doing in other African countries like Nigeria.

"It has become clear to us that there are forces in Zimbabwe who do not want us to be involved in soccer sponsorship, and we have, therefore, decided to withdraw completely.

"In order to avoid unnecessary disruptions, Econet has given PSL a notice up to December to give them time to find sponsors 'acceptable' to the relevant authorities," said Kamhunga.

His statement was in apparent reference to the Zifa board, who are the overall authorities in the administration of football in this country.

"This is very sad because we had just got to the stage with the PSL where they had sorted out their administration, and we were now ready to pump in money, which would reach all the clubs.

"We hope that another sponsor will work with PSL and finish the work we had started," he added.

Econet had, during the signing ceremony, made it clear that they would withdraw their sponsorship in the event that their name was dragged into squabbles or Premiership clubs violated the league's rules and regulations.

"This sponsorship is a big risk and our brand (Buddie) can go down with this sponsorship.

"So if there is any violation of the rules and regulations, then the fans should not blame us if we withdraw. We should work together with all stakeholders, referees, PSL and clubs to make it a success," said Econet chief marketing officer Darlington Mandivenga.

Kamhunga said they had been working very well with the PSL and the clubs, adding that the latest development was a big blow to the Econet marketing team that had worked to get approval to move into football sponsorship.

Econet Wireless Zimbabwe chief executive Douglas Mboweni said they had been happy with their working relationship with the PSL, citing "the common sense of purpose demonstrated by the PSL leadership".

"If this is maintained, it will enable them to successfully identify more sponsors for the football league. We wish them well in the future," said Mboweni.

PSL chief executive Sambo said the game had been sacrificed once again by the very people who should be serving its interests. "It's a very sad day for football and it is unfortunate that the game is once again a victim of boardroom squabbles.

"We have to consult with our clubs on the way forward before we issue a comprehensive statement on the matter."

The clubs are scheduled to meet next week.

Relations between the league and the Zifa board have been strained since the top-flight league entered into their deal with Econet Wireless.

The Zifa leadership has been arguing that the deal gave Econet a monopoly of the sponsorship field in the top-flight league.

They wanted Econet to be flexible and allow other partners, notably NetOne, to enter the sponsorship arena.

But while Zifa's concerns might have been genuine, the fact that the association is also sponsored by NetOne, who sponsor the Warriors, clouded their intentions in the deal between the PSL and Econet.

The PSL effectively has no leadership following the suspension of the entire management committee by the Zifa disciplinary committee.