Chronicle Editor
Grace Chingoma Senior Sports Reporter—
HIGHLANDERS chief executive Ndumiso Gumede is defying the ban imposed on him, from taking part in all football activities, and yesterday reported for work to carry out his duties at the club.ZIFA slapped Gumede with a ban from all football activities while Premier Soccer League chairman Peter Dube, who is also the Bosso boss, was suspended indefinitely.
The PSL boss yesterday refused to comment on the ban, which ZIFA said emanated from the way he conducted himself during a ZIFA Assembly indaba, where the PSL relegation/play-offs dispute was debated.
Gumede was sanctioned for allegedly being part of a cartel that wrote a dossier to FIFA, peddling falsehoods, in which they wanted the world football governing body to dissolve the ZIFA leadership led by Philip Chiyangwa.
FIFA sent its Southern Region representative, Ashford Mamelodi, to Harare to look at the issues and the world football governing body then endorsed the Chiyangwa leadership.
“Gumede sought to destabilise smooth football administration by establishing a bogus parallel structure which operated as a ‘ZIFA Working Committee’ in a foiled attempt to seize control of association football from ZIFA,” read the ZIFA statement.
“In that vein, Gumede ceases to be a member of the global football family since he is now barred from representing or associating himself with ZIFA or any of its members.”
But yesterday Gumede, who is in the final leg of his contract with Bosso, said he was not going anywhere.
“The position on the ground is that my principal employer are taking legal advice over the matter,” said Gumede.
“Remember, I was not seconded to Highlanders by ZIFA and until they have been advised otherwise by their legal team, I remain the employee of the club.
“If I had not reported for work today, I was the one who was going to be in trouble and charged with absenteeism.
“I was very busy since morning, preparing for a trip to FC Platinum and also planning the end-of-year awards for the club.
“The ban personally doesn’t affect me. I have been suspended before but life goes on. I remember at one time the then Sports Council banned me but after two weeks I was reinstated.”
Gumede has served in various portfolios in football administration during more than 40 years of service to the game.
“I am not young anymore but noone can take away my experience and what I have invested in football,” said Gumede. “I have been involved in football for a very long time from 1974, it has been a long career and so noone can come with a small little glass and obliterate it.” ZIFA claim Gumede was working with a number of rebels to try and topple the current leadership.
Former ZIFA chief executive Jonathan Mashingaidze has also been named to be part of that cartel which also included Francis Zimunya and Chris Sambo. They all painted a gloomy picture of the state of football in this country, in presentations to Mamelodi, but they were left with an egg on their face last month when FIFA rejected calls for appointment of either an interim or normalisation committee to run Zimbabwe football in a massive vote of confidence in Chiyangwa’s leadership.
FIFA said the biggest challenge facing the local football is the debt which is estimated at $7 million.
Online Reporter