Delta Beverages marketing director Maxen Karombo took the opportunity at the Castle Soccer Stars Awards on Friday night to spell out their expectations in the remaining two years of their sponsorship contract with the Premier Soccer League.

Karombo called for a change in the selection process of the referee of the year following questionable selections over the years saying selection must be opened to a wider panel instead of the status quo whereby the ZIFA Referees Committee chooses the top three match officials.

“We need to address the anomaly in the selection of the referee of the year. While soccer stars and coach of the year are selected by a wider panel, the referees are selected by the Zifa Referees Committee. We are of the view that the selection should be conducted by a wider panel, which, in fact, comprises customers of the referees’ service,” said Karombo.

Ruzive Ruzive was named referee of the year to murmurs of disapproval by the audience, which felt he was undeserving.

Nomore Musundire was the first runner-up, while Luckson Mhara was named the second runner-up.

Karombo also urged clubs to improve on crowd management, saying they should engage marshals that can partner law enforcement agents.

He said each football club in the league must have an inclusive approach to managing its fan base.

“Football is a passionate game, high in emotion and quickly expressed in vented frustrations. We need to see safety marshals picked from the clubs’ fans, who can work with law enforcement agents to control potentially explosive situations.

“We cannot allow Barbourfields Stadium to be turned into a war zone whenever Highlanders and Dynamos meet or Mandava Stadium to explode whenever there is a high-profile match. Football has to make a step change in managing crowd trouble; each chairman/president of a club must take personal responsibility for the safety of the fans,” Karombo said.

He also urged clubs to engage in marketing campaigns to grow their fan base as every sponsor’s dream is a stadium filled to capacity.

Full stadiums allow the brand messaging to be received by a wider audience thereby increasing return on investment for sponsors.

Karombo told clubs to be flexible with pricing, merchandising and team visibility in the community to attract a huge fan base.

He also condemned coaches that dodged post-match interviews, saying it is a serious breach of the sponsorship contract between Delta and the PSL.

Karombo said they had noted instances where coaches of top clubs refused to speak to the media after games and indicated that they would not tolerate such behaviour as it puts the sponsorship continuity at risk.

Former champions CAPS United’s coach Lloyd Chitembwe is the most notorious dodger, preferring to send his assistant Fungai Tostao Kwashi.