Banda expects hearing on Friday

Tadious Manyepo Sports Reporter

SUSPENDED ZIFA vice-president, Gift Banda, who has been on the sidelines since he was pushed out of the country’s football controlling body in January last year, says he is likely to have his case heard on Friday.

The Bulawayo businessman has been on the sidelines since he was suspended by fellow board members for announcing changes to the Warriors’ technical team without the consent of the ZIFA executive.

He had been into office for less than one month, having beaten Omega Sibanda to the post in the December 2018 election, at the time of his suspension.

Banda was accused of having fired Warriors’ assistant coaches, Rahman Gumbo and Lloyd Mutasa, and replaced them with Tonderai Ndiraya and Bongani Mafu.

ZIFA president, Felton Kamambo, was away attending the CAF awards in Senegal when Banda announced the changes which came just before the Warriors plunged into their final phase of the 2019 AFCON qualifiers.

His fellow board members accused him of having flouted “ZIFA Rules and Regulations (doc 2, ‘regulations on allocation of functions to standing committee Article 2.11.”

The ZIFA congress, held in March the same year, did not discuss the suspension because they said the matter was before their disciplinary channels.

Kamambo yesterday told The Herald that the initial hearing of the matter was held early this year and referred this publication to chief executive, Joseph Mamutse, who promised to call back but didn’t.

Banda said he was waiting for his day before the ZIFA disciplinary committee.