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Eddie Chikamhi-Senior Sports Reporter
THE ZIFA congress are committed to working round the clock to ensure football comes out of the current doldrums which have only been made worse by the recent FIFA suspension.
The association’s councillors held a consultative meeting in Harare at the weekend with 40 of the 60 members of the congress in attendance.
The indaba heard from affiliates the challenges that they have faced and it emerged local football was struggling to breathe under the current Covid-19 environment after the suspended ZIFA board failed to handle the US$1,8 million bailout from CAF and FIFA.
It was interesting the ZIFA Referees Committee Brighton Mudzamiri was also invited to give an insight on the challenges being faced by the match officials amid suspicions that referees had been made pawns in a bid to sabotage Premiership and Division One leagues by some members of the suspended ZIFA board.
Various affiliates were given the floor to discuss the challenges they are facing in the fight for survival under the challenging Covid-19 conditions.
The meeting was also in agreement on the need to go ahead with their proposed Extraordinary General Meeting that has been set for April 24.
ZIFA Northern Region Division One chairman, Martin Kweza, who has been designated by disgruntled councillors to lead the process, said they explored all the legal issues and set up a working committee to advance their agenda.
The indaba expressed grave concern over the failure by some affiliates to resume activities post Covid-19 and the suspended board has largely been blamed for not putting together a convincing blueprint.
“We heard presentations from various affiliates on the challenges they are facing and we actually discovered that funding is the major problem. Many affiliates have failed to recover from the effects of Covid-19.
“As you know, the suspended ZIFA board had undertaken to pay referees and fund the Covid-19 testing and health protocols under the CAF and FIFA bailout, but the promise was never fulfilled.
“We realised that some clubs had banked on the promise and had not budgeted for it. Their concerns appear all genuine and we are going to approach the Sports and Recreation Commission and the corporate partners to see if they can assist so that football survives the challenges,” said Kweza.
The ZIFA board led by Felton Kamambo was suspended by the Sports Commission in November last year over a chain of allegations bordering on maladministration and lack of accountability with public funds.
Zimbabwean football plunged into a worse situation when ZIFA’s membership was suspended by FIFA on February 24. FIFA cited “undue interference by a third party” in the impasse between ZIFA and the Sports Commission.
However, the ZIFA councillors, who had earlier been granted permission by the world football mother body to hold a special EGM, said they have resolved to go ahead after exploring all the legal issues involved.
“The general consensus was that our constitution was not suspended by FIFA. The ZIFA constitution is still operational and the local games are still being played. So this is what is giving us the drive to go ahead with our EGM and come up with resolutions that we hope will be accepted by FIFA,” said Kweza.
In his address to the councillors, Kweza said that the weekend consultative meeting was key.
“My fellow colleagues, we meet here at a very trying time for our football. We all know by now that FIFA suspended Zimbabwe from the international family of football following the suspension of the ZIFA board by the Sports and Recreation Commission.
“FIFA regarded the SRC suspension as interference by a third party. As football parliament, we are faced with several questions from our clubs, fans, and other general stakeholders at large.
“Some do not understand the meaning of the suspension and how the suspension is going to be lifted. We are probably saying, “what now for our football.”
“This is the reason why we convened this meeting so that we can discuss, as the football parliament, the meaning of the suspension, the status of our local competitions and the position of the EGM which was earlier called by this august house. We have brought in a legal expert to explain all this to us,” he said.
“You might also recall that we had almost two years without competitive football because of Covid-19 induced lockdowns. We are happy to note that some of our affiliates managed to return to normal competitions, but sadly, several of our affiliates are yet to start their competitions.
“It is our fiduciary duty as Congress to deliberate and find solutions to these challenges so that our football can fire again.
“We are just motivated by a great desire to do that which is correct and save our football. Ladies and gentlemen, we have work to do. More than 13 million Zimbabweans are looking up to us to provide solutions and save our football.
“The only route for us is through the EGM. We must not for any reason fail to exercise provisions in the constitution giving us powers to correct the problems before us,” said Kweza.
Online Reporter