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Sikhumbuzo Moyo Senior Sports Reporter
FIFA yesterday justified their decision to reschedule the second leg of the women’s Olympic football Africa Zone third round tie between the Mighty Warriors and Cote d’Ivoire saying they made the decision after weighing circumstances brought to their attention.
The Mighty Warriors were set to play the Ivoirians on August 2 in Harare, but the clash was rescheduled to August 23 after the visitors did not travel to Zimbabwe.
Cote d’Ivoire were awarded a 3-0 score line when Zimbabwe failed to travel to Abidjan for the first leg last month and Zifa were fined $10,400.
Zifa claimed the women’s team failed to fly to West Africa because the association could not raise $34,000 for the squad’s airfares.
Since the Ivoirians also failed to travel to Harare, it had been expected that Fifa would also sanction them in a similar manner to Zimbabwe, leaving the tie evenly balanced 3-3 on aggregate.
However, Fifa have blamed Zifa for bungling ahead of the first leg tie resulting in them being sanctioned.
“The match was rescheduled after taking into account all the specific circumstances of the matter and logistical challenges, bearing in mind also that the first leg match was not played due to the behaviour of Zifa,” said a Fifa spokesperson in an emailed response to Chronicle Sport justifying their stance.
Zifa claimed they were only informed of the rescheduling on Saturday night when the match officials were already in Harare, although it’s difficult to establish whether the association was even aware the second leg tie was still on or they simply thought the Mighty Warriors had been kicked out of the qualifiers.
Fans were certainly not aware that there was a scheduled Mighty Warriors match at Rufaro Stadium on August 2 as the venue hosted the ZNA Charities final between Dynamos and Highlanders.
Maybe Zifa had planned to stage the Mighty Warriors’ match at the giant National Sports Stadium as Rufaro had already been booked for the charity game since they claim to have been informed of the rescheduling on Saturday night?
It has now emerged that Zifa were sanctioned by Fifa for not applying for visas for the aborted Mighty Warriors’ trip to Côte d’Ivoire.
The match was scheduled for July 19, but the girls could not fly out with Zifa claiming they could not raise $34,000 for the airfares to Abidjan.
Fifa opened disciplinary proceedings and their disciplinary committee decided that the match should be forfeited, in accordance with Article 31 of the Fifa Disciplinary Code and ordered Zifa to pay a fine of $10,400 after being found liable for the violation of Article 6 paragraph 1, Article 6 paragraph 3 e), Article 7 paragraph 1, and Article 7 paragraph 10 of the Regulations for the Olympic football tournaments.
However, it is Article 6 paragraph 3 (e) that Zifa violated and exposed the secretariat at 53 Livingstone Avenue, the Zifa head office in Harare.
Paragraph 3 (e) deals with applying for required visas at the earliest opportunity.
It is clear Zifa did not even bother to apply for visas for the Mighty Warriors.
Zifa spokesman Xolisani Gwesela yesterday defended the association’s stance in the unfolding mess.
“We needed to secure air tickets first before applying for visas,” said Gwesela.
However, a reputable travel agency said no tickets were required in the application for visas, adding that someone simply slept on duty at Zifa House.
“You only need your itinerary to apply for those documents and it’s not true that air tickets have to be produced first. Visa application is just that and it’s not a given that you’ll be granted the document because you applied,” said an official from the agency.
Online Reporter