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Petros Kausiyo Deputy Sports Editor
ZIFA will have to wait a little longer before they can put a lid on the Asia-gate saga after Fifa yesterday asked for more information from the association before they can endorse an application to effect global bans on the individuals accused of match-fixing.
The Zifa pair of vice-president Ndumiso Gumede and chief executive Jonathan Mashingaidze were in Zurich, Switzerland, earlier this week to appraise Fifa on the way they handled the Asia-gate scandal and to try and convince the world soccer governing body to effect global bans on individuals who were deemed to be the chief culprits in the match-fixing scandal.
Gumede and Mashingaidze were asked to furnish Fifa with more files on the accused individuals before the world body makes its ruling on the application for global bans.
Yesterday Zifa also revealed, for the first time, that Fifa funding for the exercise, which had been promised through the organisation’s head of security Chris Eaton, did not come and this made the whole process difficult for them.
The local football mother body also revealed that their president, Cuthbert Dube, spent US$220 000 of his personal funds just to ensure that the exercise was completed.
Yesterday Fifa confirmed the outcome of the discussion that Fifa disciplinary committee chairman, Marc Cavaliero, and the Zifa pair held and named the 20 individuals on whom they would want the association to submit more information.
Fifa deputy secretary to the disciplinary committee, Octavian Bivolaru, also outlined the form which they would want the files to be put in.
“We refer to the captioned matter (Closure of the Asia-gate scandal) and to the meeting which took place with the chairman of the Fifa disciplinary committee on 23 July 2013.
“First of all we would like to thank you once more on behalf of the chairman of the Fifa disciplinary committee for your attendance as well as for your presentations made and information provided.
“As discussed and agreed at the aforementioned meeting we would like to hereby ask you to provide us by return with relevant written documentary evidence that all the conditions for an extension of the sanctions to have worldwide effect to be pronounced are fulfilled in each and every individual case,’’ Bivolaru wrote.
The Fifa disciplinary committee deputy secretary then listed the 20 individuals they would want Zifa to submit more information on before they extend their bans from football beyond the country’s borders.
The 20 individuals are former Zifa chief executive Henrietta Rushwaya, former Zifa programmes officer Jonathan Musavengana, Sunday Chidzambwa, Method Mwanjali, Thomas Sweswe, Darryl Nyandoro, Guthrie Zhokinyi, Edmore Sibanda, Methembe Ndlovu, Solomon Mugavazi, Kudzi Shaba, Bekithemba Ndlovu, Rodwell Dhlakama, Emmanuel Nyahuma, Clayton Munemo, Godfrey Japajapa, Danisa Phiri, Thomson Matenda, Zenzo Moyo and Hope Chizuzu.
Bivolaru also set the same three conditions that Fifa had given when they initially requested information on all the banned individuals and indicated that the requirements were in line with Article 137 of the Fifa disciplinary code.
“Thus we invite you to provide us by return written documentary evidence for each individual case in relation to the following conditions established in Article 137 of the FDC:
l The person sanctioned has been cited properly
l He has had the opportunity to state his case
l The decision has been communicated properly (along with any documentary evidence establishing the foregoing)
“Equally, we kindly ask you to follow the aforementioned chronological order (1, 2, 3) for each individual person and to numerate the documentation accordingly for each individual person.
“Furthermore, we would like to ask you to confirm that Mr Kudzanai Shaba, Mr Hope Chizuzu and Mr Zenzo Moyo were at the time when the sanctions were pronounced against them and are under the jurisdiction of your association and to provide us with the relevant documents attesting to the foregoing.
“Moreover, and since you have informed us previously that the appeals lodged by Mr Sunday Chidzambwa, Mr Thomas Sweswe and Mr Method Mwanjali would be heard on 29 July 2013, we would like to ask you to inform us immediately of the decisions taken by the appeal committee of Zifa on the aforementioned cases as soon as the decisions are taken and provide us with copies thereof and with relevant proof of notification,’’ Bivolaru said.
Mashingaidze, in acknowledging Fifa’s correspondence, said he would on Monday send the documentation that has been requested for.
The Zifa chief executive said they were still eager to see the Asia-gate matter brought to finality.
“Given that we are going to send the information on Monday we would want to see closure of this matter in the coming month and we will work with Fifa to ensure that our statutes are fool-proof against match-fixing, which could continue to haunt us if we do not have the legal instruments to support the fight against the scourge,’’ Mashingaidze said.
Mashingaidze also described their indaba with Fifa as “a frank and open meeting.”
“We cannot pre-empt what Fifa will come up with but they told us that match-fixing has no place in football and they also appreciated the challenges that we have faced in tackling this sophisticated matter which we inherited from the previous board.
“Putting together the due process was characterised by harassment, financial constraints and misinformation and we also shared with them the fact that there was no funding for the exercise from the national fiscus, that Fifa had through Chris Eaton promised funding and in the end had it not been for the Zifa president Cuthbert Dube who used his personal funds, US$220 000, to fund the exercise we would not have got this far.
“We believe that we are now on the home stretch to give the game a chance to get out of the woods of yesteryear and be rehabilitated.
“We impressed to Fifa that some individuals are playing havoc with our game even after the convictions so we needed closure of this matter so that the board and the secretariat can go about their business without anxiety.
“We believe that and we impressed this on Fifa that finality will bring a new relationship between Zifa and the game’s stakeholders
“Fifa had advised us that they would be sending us a letter regarding the information they want and we are going to favour them with the information they want which information they acknowledged that they had already received but now they want us to reorganise in terms of what they expect.
“We will also confirm again that the summons to appear before the Ebrahim committee were issued through the messenger of court and that it was made known to the individuals that the Ebrahim committee would proceed with the hearings if they decided against attending.
“There were even attempts through the High Court to stop the committee from conducting its business.
“Of the 93 individuals only six appealed and of the six that appealed two (Luke Masomere and Taurai Mangwiro) have since had their cases heard. Of the 93, the board looked at who warranted fines or suspended sentences and some paid their fines , others put in a payment plan,’’ Mashingaidze said.
Online Reporter