Sports Reporter

MARONDERA– The new season of the Marondera District Pool Association (MDPA) is expected to begin at the end of this month.

Over the years, the sports code has gained traction and various clubs compete in the Division 1 and Diamond Premier leagues.

In an interview, MDPA secretary general Tinashe Mutema told Chaminuka Sport that clubs that are interested in competing in the leagues are now registering with the league.

“Our plan is to kick off the season at the end of this month. Last season, we had 20 clubs that competed in the Diamond Premier league while 18 competed in the Division 1 league.

“Last season’s top five clubs from the Division 1 will be promoted to the Diamond Premier league while our regulation is that five of those that completed the season at the bottom of the league will be relegated. Pool is now very popular in Marondera and we want to make the game competitive,” he said.

Mutema added that both leagues are yet to have official sponsors and the association will rely on affiliation fees that will be paid by the clubs.

He said: “At the moment, we do not have sponsors for the leagues, hence we will compel clubs to pay their affiliation fees in full to help us administer them professionally.

Last year, the MDPA made it mandatory that Frame 5 in the Premier League be solely played by women and this resulted in the number of female players in the league increasing tremendously.

Young people also showed a keen interest in the sport and competed in an Under 23s tournament.

Clubs that are now popular in the sport include Charisma, Rick’s, Chikomo, Kungtite, Gango and Nyameni Tigers, among others.