Caf adamant on Mandava Stadium

48-hour ultimatum to find an alternative venue.
Caf last Thursday directed that Zifa had to secure an alternative venue for the Platinum against El Merreikh Champions League first round, first leg tie on the weekend of March 23-25.
Despite protests from Zifa, Caf remained adamant yesterday that FC Platinum had to look for another home ground for the tournament because Zvishavane did not have an airport as well as adequate accommodation to house a visiting team.
Zifa chief executive, Jonathan Mashingaidze, had earlier sent an appeal to Caf on behalf of FC Platinum and also argued that the preliminary round tie between the miners and Green Mamba had been staged without any complaints from the Swaziland champions.
Mashingaidze said although he could not divulge much yesterday, there had been a number of manouvres in which the association was working with the club to ensure the game remains at Mandava.
In his appeal to Caf, Mashingaidze had also argued that both Zifa and Platinum had invested a lot in ensuring that Zvishavane will be the town where the Premiership runners-up would play their Champions League matches and had so far successfully done so when hosting Green Mamba.
“The Zimbabwe Football Association is in receipt of your letter dated 7th March 2012 and hereby acknowledge its contents.
“The association would like to register comments on the Match Commissioner’s report for the said match. The association would like to bring to your attention that the association made possible the following:
l That the Match Commissioner would stay 90km from the match venue given that the hotel in Zvishavane is undergoing renovations
l That Green Mamba travelled by road to Zimbabwe and had no objections to staying 90km from the match venue
l That the match venue met the Caf standard and Fifa standards in terms of amenities and specifications
l That the association provided the necessary security for both match officials and Green Mamba,’’ wrote Mashingaidze.
The Zifa chief executive said it was against this background that they believe FC Platinum should be allowed to host El Merreikh at Mandava.
“Consequently, the association would like to request your esteemed office and person to allow the association to host the match between FC Platinum and El Merreikh of  Sudan set for the 24th March 2012 in Zvishavane and nowhere else.
“The association and the club have invested a lot of resources in the construction of Mandava Stadium with a view towards hosting FC Platinum’s home games in their immediate environment thus enhancing the growth of football in all corners of Zimbabwe and Africa in general.
“We promise that the officials and the team from Sudan will be accorded the best support services ahead of, during and after the match.
“We are aware that Caf would like to take football to every corner of Africa and to that end the confederation shall always support its federations to stage matches in venues that meet Caf’s technical standards.
“Please be advised that the association looks forward to your esteemed office and person granting us permission to stage the match in question in Zvishavane,’’ said Mashingaidze.
Although Mashingaidze was not at liberty to reveal some of the manouvres they are working on, it is understood that Platinum were considering the possibility of chartering a plane from Harare to Masvingo and house the Sudanese delegation there.
Another option that was being considered was flying Merreikh to Bulawayo and then take them to Zvishavane for their training a day before the match after which they would then proceed to Masvingo.
But Caf, who have often been silent when complaints of sub-standard accommodation and general ill-treatment have been raised against mostly West African countries, have taken a hardline stance on Zimbabwe and insisted yesterday that Zifa had to look elsewhere to stage the Platinum against Merreikh game.
Abla Hassan, a director in the Caf competitions division, wrote yesterday that they wanted Zifa to stick by article 5 paragraph 4 of the competition’s regulations, which states that:
“If the distance between the capital city and the venue of the match is superior to 200km the host association shall provide the visitors with an airplane transport to the venue of the match and back.
“If this is not possible the match shall be played in the capital city except by agreement between the two teams,’’ Hassan said.
Hassan added that an approval by the opponents as was in the case with Green Mamba could not be used as reference in Zifa’s appeal.
“The opponent’s approval is not a reference to be followed which is not the case for your next opponent . . . the reference is the regulation of the competition.
“Since the distance is more than 200km an airplane shall be provided for the visiting team in accordance with the provision of Article 5 paragraph 4.
“Consequently, we would like to reconfirm the decision changing the venue Mandava Stadium and play your future matches to another venue that has the necessary  requirements to host Caf matches and confirm to us the alternative venue within the next 48 hours,’’ Hassan wrote.