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Tinashe Kusema and Don Makanyanga
GOVERNMENT has reiterated that it will not allow the Warriors to play their home games in another country and strongly opposed the move by ZIFA to try and move the senior national team’s game against Algeria to South Africa.
Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation Deputy Minister Tino Machakaire said Government has no intentions of allowing the national team to play on foreign soil, which he believes would be an abdication of responsibility to ensure the local stadiums are in shape.
Machakaire’s remarks came just as the Confederation of African Football’s decision to postpone the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers across the continent, amid the coronavirus pandemic, was being announced — a blessing in disguise for Zimbabwe.
The postponement came after it emerged that a potential clash between Government and ZIFA had been averted as the association had lined up the Warriors’ Nations Cup qualifier against Algeria for South Africa following the CAF ban on Barbourfields and the National Sports Stadium.
“We can’t be seen to be going to play football in South Africa as if we are not organised; Zimbabwe currently has some of the most educated people in Africa. I don’t think there are more educated people on the continent.
“Anyway, let me say that we will never allow our football games to be played outside our borders when we have grounds in Zimbabwe.
“However, inasmuch as CAF has banned our stadiums, we are working around the clock to make sure the situation is rectified, and everything comes out well.
“We (ministry) will also try to and see if there are more things that were not done correctly and fix those, too,” Machakaire said.
The deputy minister also appealed to stakeholders to come together, open lines of communication and move in the same direction.
“For us to rebuild our Zimbabwe, we must work as a team, work together. We might err along the way, everyone makes mistakes, but we can correct those mistakes through better communication.
“We can sit down and share our views, so that we improve our country,’’ said Machakaire.
Government will also, through the Sport and Recreation Commission, crack the whip on non-complaint sports associations.
SRC director-general, Prince Mupazviriho, spoke of the Government’s stance after meeting the country’s national sports associations at their first quarterly meeting for 2020 yesterday.
Mupazviriho said the Commission was not happy with the level of compliance of some of the 63-registered national sport associations.
“We are not satisfied with the level of compliance of the national associations; it is very low. So these are the issues which we are looking at and from our board’s perspective. Our board is firm on the issue of compliance; they don’t want us (management) to tolerate an association which is not compliant.
“We discussed the issue of compliance extensively, and we looked at what could be the reasons for non-compliance, with a view to resolving those issues that are impediments to compliance but very soon we will be taking drastic measures in terms of those sports associations which are not compliant,” said Mupazviriho.
He said associations that fail to submit their annual general meeting reports together with their audited financial statements would not get financial assistance from the Government.
“It is mandatory for all sports associations that they submit their AGM reports with minutes properly signed together with the annual audited financial statements.
“For the associations to be eligible for funding this year we must have been satisfied that whatever they received was used properly and it is not just about the monies we give them because the registration mandates us (SRC) to see how they are managing their affairs.”
The SRC also set strict conditions for teams travelling outside the country in the wake of the COVID-19 virus.
“We have discussed issues to do with the current coronavirus pandemic since we are the ones who approve tours. We expect our national associations not to be making unreasonable requests for them to travel outside the country.
“But where they believe it is necessary for them to make such a request there are certain requirements and guarantees that need to be followed from the host countries before we authorise them,” Mupazviriho said.
“We discussed the programme of activities that we are going to undertake this year, but of importance is the fact that we are also working to transform the sporting sector in terms of positioning ourselves to be able to perform better wherever we are going to compete as a country.
“It is a developmental aspect that should be linked with our 10-year plan because we compete at regional level once every two years, which automatically means it is a path to something that will happen after four years.
“This what we have been discussing in terms of the development plans which have been submitted by all the national associations because when we are going to participate as a country we are not just going to make up the numbers but to compete,” said Mupazviriho.
Online Reporter