adminAs of last night, Harare giants Dynamos were the only club to have confirmed their participation status with their name sent to Caf for registration.
The initial registration deadline was yesterday.
Zimbabwe had four slots in the Caf inter-clubs competitions, two in the prestigious Caf Champions League and the other two in the Caf Confederation tournament.
Highlanders finished the 2012 domestic season second on the log tied on 69 points with champions Dynamos and lost out on superior goal difference. Their position guarantees them a Caf Champions League slot while Chicken Inn who were third on the log were supposed to go for the Caf Confederation Cup.
The other Caf Confederation Cup slot was supposed to be taken by Monomotapa by virtue of being runners-up in the Mbada Diamonds Cup where they lost 2-0 in the final to Dynamos.
Sources at PSL and Zifa said financial resources contributed to the three teams’ withdrawal from continental competition.
The source said PSL and Zifa were in possession of refusal letters from Chicken Inn and Highlanders.
“Dynamos are the only ones going to Africa. They confirmed their participation status on Monday. The other teams (Highlanders, Monomotapa and Chicken Inn) turned down the offer to go for Caf competitions.
“This is bad for our football considering that Caf gave us four slots because we are regarded to be one of the best countries on the continent.
“The truth of the matter is that our clubs don’t have the financial muscle for Africa and even Highlanders in their letter said the time needed to harness funds was inadequate,” said the source.
The source said Highlanders’ decision not to participate in Champions League was fuelled by their pending three-year ban from Caf competitions.
Zifa made a boob by registering Highlanders for the 2011 Caf Confederation Cup without their consent and that has now returned to haunt the Bulawayo giants.
Bosso is banned from participating in any continental competition after withdrawing from last year’s edition of the Caf Confederation Cup. The Bulawayo giants are banned until 2015.
On Monday Zifa wrote to Caf to plead on behalf of Bosso and the continental football body in its response said the matter will only be forwarded to their Bureau of inter-clubs committee on 9 December.
Highlanders’ chairman Peter Dube said they were still in the dark about their appeal.
“We have not received any official form of communication from Zifa with regards to the Caf ban and that makes planning difficult. We continue to read in the media about the appeal Zifa has made. We are still waiting for Zifa to advise us accordingly with regards to our ban,” said Dube.
Chicken Inn’s chairman Lifa Ncube confirmed that his club would not participate in Africa.
“We are not going and we have advised the PSL. We feel we are immature and need experience. We have to learn the ropes in the domestic league.
“If we were strong enough, we could have won the championship,” said Ncube.
Repeated efforts to get comment from the Zifa chief executive officer Jonathan Mashingaidze were fruitless.
Online Reporter