Valinhos is back

a final demand from Fifa to settle a US$60 000 debt to former Warriors coach Valinhos for the Brazilian’s unpaid salaries.
Fifa have given Zifa until March 10 to find the money with the world soccer governing body threatening to deduct the amount from the US$250 000 grant they give to the association annually through the Financial Assistance Programme.
Zifa have been battling to find resources to fund the package of a substantive Warriors coach and adequately prepare the senior team for the 2012 African Cup of Nations qualifying campaign.
The association also struggled to fund the home-based Warriors’ campaign at the African Nations Championships which will end in Sudan tonight with the clash between Angola and Tunisia in the final.
But just when they thought their focus would now shift to trying to secure resources for the upkeep of a new substantive Warriors mentor, Zifa are being haunted by one of the senior team’s former coaches.
Valinhos took his case to Fifa after trying, without success, since October 2008 to get Zifa to pay him his outstanding salaries.
The Brazilian, who led the Warriors on a failed qualification campaign for both the 2010 African Cup of Nations in Angola and the World Cup in South Africa, was only paid for the first six months of his tenure when the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority was taking care of his upkeep.
Valinhos had been given a three-year performance-based contract, with a specific task to help the Warriors qualify for either the Nations Cup, the World Cup or both.
But by the time the qualifiers, which were run concurrently finished, Valinhos’ men had only managed one win (2-0) against Namibia, three draws against Guinea (home and away) and Kenya at home.
But defeats by Kenya in Nairobi and the Warriors’ heaviest loss to Namibia to date, a 4-2 hiding meant that Zimbabwe failed to be part of the continental showcase in Angola and the global football jamboree later in neighbouring South Africa.
Two years after his departure from the Warriors dressing room, Valinhos has resurfaced to haunt Zifa with Fifa having thrown their weight behind his appeal for assistance to recover his dues.
Zifa board member finance Elliot Kasu, who is in Sudan as part of the association’s delegation to the 33rd Confederation of African Football Congress, said they had been taken aback by the Fifa letter of demand as they had received indications from their secretariat last year that Valinhos’ case had long been settled.
Kasu said Valinhos’ name had never cropped up on the list of some of their major creditors when Cuthbert Dube’s board came into power on March 27 last year.
Dube’s board have, since taking over, indicated that their operations are largely being hamstrung by the fact that they inherited huge liabilities from Wellington Nyatanga’s leadership.
And with no proper hand-over, take-over having been done, Zifa do not know the extent of the liabilities they have to contend with.
Another former Warriors coach Sunday Chidzambwa, who replaced Valinhos, has since sought legal means to get his outstanding salary with the former Dynamos technical director, who is now based in South Africa, also claiming that he is owed US$70 000.
But with the Fifa deadline looming large over the Valinhos matter, Kasu said they would be writing to the world body to appeal for more time while they look into the circumstances surrounding the debt.
Kasu said acting Zifa chief executive Jonathan Mashingaidze had only received the Fifa letter of demand shortly before he flew to Khartoum for the Caf Congress.
“When we got into office we were made to believe that Valinhos issue had been settled and that he had been paid through Fifa.
“But we are now surprised that it has resurfaced. In fact it is a matter of concern that from the period we took over Valinhos name never appeared as a creditor on our books of accounts.
“So his coming in as a creditor comes as a huge surprise to us and only further complicates things for the association and we have to investigate what happened and why he was actually not paid when there had been indications that the matter had been settled,” Kasu said.
The Zifa finance guru said his association was also still trying to clear a number of debts and indicated that their audited accounts set to be presented at their annual meeting next month would give an insight into how much they owe in the financial period under review.
“I must say that there are other creditors who are emerging and we are treating each case as it comes and maybe one would want to ask whether the audit did not pick this up.
“Our first financials are due at the end of March and these are the ones subject to audit and if there are any more irregularities they will be picked up at the end of March”.
Zifa, Kasu said, would also make public the findings of their probe into the Valinhos saga.
“The nation will be informed of the outcome of the investigation and we will also notify Fifa after that probe.
“Fifa are at the moment aware of our current challenges, we are constantly updating them on the progress that we are making and we will try to ask for more time so that we investigate the Valinhos issue and respond accordingly,” Kasu said.