Zimbabwe Premier Soccer League (PSL) clubs have over the past few days made life difficult for the mother body, the Zimbabwe Football Association, (ZIFA) and football stakeholders in general, with accusations and counter-accusations of match-fixing.
The situation first reached boiling point when Hardrock’s 3-2 comeback victory was marred by controversy, as the referee’s decisions, especially on one of the goals scored by the Kwekwe-based side, were questioned.
And then, days later, an audio pointing to an attempt to fix the CAPS United and Scottland game in favour of the latter surfaced, and it went viral despite the fact that it could not be verified and there was no complainant.
This was against the background that, at the time, Scottland were eight points behind log leaders Hardrock, a gap that has now been reduced to five after their win over CAPS United on Thursday. Scottland still have a game in hand.
From the way things look, if clubs do not see the bigger picture, the last two games of the season could be worse than the turbulent week that has put Zimbabwean football into disrepute.
PSL clubs must know that keeping the integrity of the game intact, avoiding mud-slinging on the subject of match-fixing and any corruption, outweighs winning the title or any cup on offer.
The cost of dragging the game back to the dark days of Asiagate is too much to bear and it destroys the very fabric of the game at a time when the current ZIFA executive have done much to take the game to a new level.
Just in the past week, the Zimbabwe Football Association pulled off mission impossible when they trained the first batch of referees on the Video Assistant Referee system, which is set to be introduced here, making Zimbabwe the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to do so.
The association have also managed to send an Under-15 team to the FIFA World Cup festival where the next generation of footballers could emerge.
And one of the biggest projects that could also secure the game in the near future is the Olympic team, the Under-23 team currently playing the Africa Cup of Nations for that age group, which forms the foundation of the future Warriors.
A number of partners have also come on board to support the association’s initiatives, and they have changed the way corporates view football at national level.
But now, the PSL, which is the flagship league in the country and the backbone of Zimbabwean football, is pressing the self-destruct button and undoing all the efforts made.
The association also went the extra mile on Thursday to ensure the game between CAPS United and Scottland was officiated by foreign referees, in an attempt to protect the game.
Chances are more resources will now have to be used by the association for the last two rounds of the PSL as they continue to guard what has been built. The call will be for clubs to try to complement those efforts and not create more problems in the process.
The sad part is that not all clubs are involved in the mud-slinging or stand accused of anything, while some have simply been collateral damage.
This is not to say issues of integrity are peculiar to countries in the developing world.
Currently, English football could be facing a much worse situation after Manchester City were found guilty of 114 out of 115 Premier League financial and regulatory charges covering nine seasons.
The FA acknowledged the initial independent commission’s decision “has significant implications for the integrity of the game”.
And because they understand the full implications, they made a point of saying they would not comment further as “proceedings remain ongoing – with Manchester City lodging an appeal”.
The careful handling of such issues must be a lesson to ZIFA, the PSL and other stakeholders on how important it is to protect the game when integrity is called into question.
It is shocking to even imagine that some executives have the audacity to leak internal memos when such sensitive issues are being resolved to protect the national game.
Clubs must understand that fans, other stakeholders and Zimbabwe demand better.
It is commendable that ZIFA have since written to all 18 boards of governors on the importance of guarding the game against corruption after the fiasco. And the PSL have also indicated they are ready to cooperate if any cases are reported.
As the season comes to an end, clubs must reflect and realise that the biggest title they can win for themselves is ‘fair play’ and the future of the game. The league title is just icing on the cake
