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Curtworth Masango
Zimpapers Sports Hub
A MAJOR corruption scandal that has been brewing for years, is threatening to derail hosts Zimbabwe’s preparations for next month’s CAF Africa Cup of Nations Under-17 COSAFA Qualifiers.
The scam is based on allegations of nepotism, bias and coercion in the manner in which the selection panel tasked by ZIFA have been going about their business.
With the tournament set to kick off on September 11, serious allegations have been levelled against the coaching staff, with Norman Taruvinga and Backyfield Chiwenga fronting the accusations.
They stand accused of hijacking the national squad selection process to benefit their own Prince Edward Academy and as a platform to market their preferred players at the expense of meritocracy.
ZIFA had rolled out a selection programme under former technical director Jethro Hunidzarira.
That programme had, however, stalled when Hunidzarira was fired and left the association on July 31.
Sources close to the goings-on in the Young Warriors set-up revealed that Taruvinga and Chiwenga took advantage “to push for selection of their players’’.
“A number of players and parents have received calls from the coaches and have been coerced into enrolling at Taruvinga’s academy if they are entertaining hopes of making it into the COSAFA Under-17 squad.
“In some instances, those players from well-to-do families have been assured that they do not need to attend the trials because the selection trials that are being held at provincial and regional level are actually a smokescreen be-cause the squad was long picked before the countrywide tour was undertaken,’’ the sources said.
And more egregiously, they are alleged to have demanded payment to some parents desperate to have their children get a chance to be noticed by scouts who are set to descend on Harare for the COSAFA tournament.
Such a scheme, however, systematically excludes the nation’s most deserving young talent, undermining the team’s competitive integrity and betraying the dreams of aspiring footballers across the country.
When contacted for comment, coach Norman Taruvinga responded with dismissive arrogance.
“Ask people from ZIFA. “I have my own stuff to attend to,” was all he said before silently hanging the call.
The Young Warriors are in Group A, where they will face Mozambique, Comoros, and Eswatini.
The allegations suggest the squad may not be made up of the country’s best, but rather it’s most connected, or wealthiest.
The tournament itself is a critical pathway, with the top teams advancing to the CAF Under-17 Africa Cup of Nations and a platform to take a crack at qualification for the expanded FIFA Under-17 World Cup.
While Zimbabwe grapples with internal corruption, regional powerhouses Zambia, the defending and record four-time champions, and South Africa are set for a brutal clash in a “Group of Death” alongside Madagascar and Malawi.
Group C contains Angola, Botswana, Mauritius and Lesotho.
As the nation prepares to host this prestigious event, the focus has been cruelly shifted from the promise of future stars to the venal actions of those entrusted to guide them.
Online Reporter