adminNONE but ourselves are to blame for the second major football match-fixing scandal to hit our country since independence.
The reason being that when Asiagate struck us between 2004 and 2008, punishment for those found guilty was not that deterrent.
Simply banning people masquerading as a national team to represent a country in fixed games is equivalent to a Sunday afternoon picnic.
Asiagate was not just about cheating, but was criminal in that these players and officials went to the Far East in our name to throw games for money in unsanctioned matches. Not in our name!
Enter the new Zifa board and all bans are lifted for what we were told was aimed at starting on a fresh page.
This obviously endeared new Zifa president Philip Chiyangwa to the Asiagate cheats and some within the football fraternity that felt the board wanted to bring everyone on board.
However, that decision to declare a blanket pardon on all Asiagate accused returned to haunt the new Zifa executive less than five months into their tenure.
They soon learnt that a leopard cannot change its spots as the weeds they left to grow in the field began to choke the crops.
Suddenly and as if they had unearthed something new, Zifa started telling us that they had discovered some tares among the wheat and were now trying to dig deep to find out who had planted the injurious weeds overnight.
Really, were the tares planted by the enemy overnight or Zifa cultivated and watered the tares by lifting various Asiagate bans, with the false hope that they would turn into wheat?
Sensational match=fixing allegations dominating local sports news are therefore not surprising taking into account that Chiyangwa’s Zifa wanted to be a football version of Mother Theresa.
What’s interesting is that as Chiyangwa announced the lifting of the Asiagate bans, chief accused and the association’s former chief executive officer Henrietta Rushwaya was mired deep in the latest scandal with the same Asian gang that had previously disrespected our national identity and pride.
Zifa board member for development Edzai Kasinauyo, sacked Warriors’ assistant coach Nation Dube and former Warriors’ coach Ian Gorowa were also allegedly sucked into the latest scandal to throw the Warriors’ matches.
Chiyangwa says they have a solid case against them backed by email exchanges, WhatsApp messages and audio recordings of the plot with their handlers.
But if Zifa have such overwhelming evidence against the accused, why have they not been officially charged? In fact, Rushwaya has admitted involvement in the scandal as the point person of the shadowy syndicate.
Surely there can only be one outcome for a repeat offender like her, who had a life ban lifted just two months ago, while she was deeply involved in fixing more matches.
Zifa must understand that we want justice to be served and have no interest whatsoever in the accused being tried in the court of public opinion.
And whatever sanctions are imposed, they must be deterrent. If any laws of the country are found to have been broken, they must also stand trial in a court of law.
Only jail sentences will deter would be offenders from trying to fix matches because bans only stop them from official involvement in football, but not their links to betting rings. Jail terms will cut the web of gamblers linked to players and officials.
The 2016 Castle Lager Premier Soccer League season kicks off in two weeks’ time and instead of the focus being on the sparkling play, most fans will probably be wondering which players aren’t playing fair.
Zifa must also try and address the economics of the game because not every player makes a living wage playing in the PSL, making most of them vulnerable to corruption.
The offer of a five-figure sum several times a year is tempting to our players and for as long as the financial incentive to cheat is attractive before one retires, the evil scourge will remain.
Match fixing and the urge to make easy money have deprived authentic and honest officials, players and fans from enjoying what used to be known as the beautiful game.
Online Reporter