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Eddie Chikamhi-Senior Sports Reporter
THE organisers of the ZIFA Extraordinary General Meeting say the stage is setting up nicely for the long-awaited football gathering that is expected to end the problems stifling the administration of the game in this country.
The football parliament will meet in Harare this Saturday to discuss the way forward to the football crisis, which has also seen Zimbabwe’s membership at FIFA getting suspended and effectively closing the doors to international football participation.
But in two-days’ time, Zimbabwe’s football could be taking a new direction as the under-fire members of the suspended executive, led by Felton Kamambo, are facing a certain fate.
ZIFA Northern Region chairman, Martin Kweza, who has been mandated by the councillors to lead the crusade, yesterday told The Herald that the councillors are determined to see the meeting succeed and have made their intentions clear about revoking the mandate of members of the suspended ZIFA board.
They are expecting a big turnout, with not less than 40 councillors from across the country expected to be part of the process.
“We are done with the preparations for this meeting and obviously we expect the programme to go as scheduled. The councillors will be travelling to Harare from all over the country to attend this important gathering for the betterment of our football.
“Initially, we had 27 councillors putting their signatures on the petition for this meeting and I can tell you the number has been increasing and we had 40 attending the last consultative meeting that we held.
“So we are expecting 40 and above to attend this EGM on Saturday. We have sent invitations to all the members and it was done on time.
“They saw the notice and they have the agenda. So all those that are really for football will be seen by attending (this meeting) on Saturday.
“We have also sent out invitation letters to the members of the suspended ZIFA board. They also received individual charge sheets stating their transgressions. They have to be there to answer to the allegations that have been levelled against them, it’s normal in any organisation.
“But in the event that they do not come, the matters on the agenda will be determined even in their absence. There are precedences to this,” said Kweza.
The EGM was called after 27 of the 62 delegates of the Congress appended their signatures to show their support on a petition that was also copied to CAF and FIFA.
At least one third of the Congress, which is 21 delegates, is required to call for the meeting, according to Article 28 (2) of the ZIFA constitution.
The councillors had initially wanted to hold the meeting in January but they were forced to shelve their plans after FIFA cautioned that there was need to follow the constitution and give the due 90-day-notice.
FIFA then suggested to the councillors that they had to wait until April 3 before circulating notices of the meeting.
“This EGM was long overdue. The football statutes allow for this meeting to be held. Notices have been given to both FIFA and CAF.
“So, once we are done with the business on Saturday, which includes possible revocation of the mandate of some executive members, there will be a need to co-opt new members onto the board, if there is 50 percent of the board remaining.
“But if it happens that the whole executive committee is recalled, then we might be forced to go for elections.
“So we will see how it goes. But what is certain is that the executive committee that we come up with will, among other things, be given the mandate to engage the Sports and Recreation Commission as well as FIFA for a way forward.
“They will also need to look at the constitutional review process and the holding of the Annual General Meeting, which the suspended executive failed to do,” said Kweza.
The suspended board members are facing an internal revolt for allegedly running down the game in the country due to poor administration. The ZIFA board led by Kamambo was suspended by the Sports Commission in November last year.
The interventions by the Sports Commission attracted the wrath of FIFA, which responded by suspending Zimbabwe from international football as of February 24.
The councillors are not happy the game has been deteriorating over the years and they need to get to the bottom of why Zimbabwe was suspended from FIFA, for the first time since Independence, under the watch of Kamambo’s leadership.
The members of the suspended ZIFA board have also been served with the meeting notice, which was circulated well before the required 14 days. The meeting notice was also copied to the ZIFA secretariat, Sports Commission, CAF and FIFA.
“Your attention is drawn to the above subject. You may all recall that on 3 January 2022, ZIFA Assembly members requested for an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) in line with Article 28 of the ZIFA Constitution,” Kweza wrote in the notice.
“Since that constitutional request, ninety (90) days have now passed without the ZIFA Executive Committee calling for the EGM as expected. In terms of Article 28(2), if an extraordinary congress is not convened within three months, the members who requested it may convene the congress themselves.”
According to Kweza such members like the PSL clubs, Eastern Region and Northern will fund the indaba.
“It is upon this background that all members of the ZIFA Congress are now invited to the Extraordinary General Congress to be held on 23 April 2022. The venue and time are highlighted on the attached agenda.
“Please be advised that the members who signed the request for this meeting and are now convening it shall take care of the usual logistics, which includes transport refunds, food and accommodation for those coming from outside Harare,” he said.
Part of the agenda reads: “6. Laying of charges against the ZIFA Executive Committee members.
“7 WAY FORWARD: i. Revocation of one or more members of the executive committee in terms of Article 22(m) of ZIFA Statutes if found in breach of the statutes. ii. Co-option of members if any.”
ZIFA are currently suspended from the FIFA family and Kweza said the suspension will not have any bearing on the internal processes meant to bring sanity to the game.
The councillors are armed with Article 28(2) of the ZIFA constitution, which stipulates that:
“The executive committee shall convene an extraordinary congress if one third of the members of ZIFA (congress) make such a request in writing. The request shall specify the items for the Agenda. An extraordinary congress shall be held, within three months of receipt, of the request. If an extraordinary congress is not convened, the members who requested it may convene the congress themselves. As a last resort, the members may request assistance from CAF or FIFA.”
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