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Petros Kausiyo Deputy Sports Editor
OUTGOING Zifa vice-president Ndumiso Gumede has warned the incoming board to brace for a fight from international match agents Kentaro AG who are still claiming they are owed US$650 000 from the 2010 match between Zimbabwe and Brazil.The Warriors hosted former World champions Brazil in a high-profile international friendly at the National Sports Stadium on June 2 as the Samba Boys made final touches to their preparations for the 2010 World Cup tournament in South Africa.
Although Norman Mapeza’s men lost 3-0, the match attracted a 55 000 crowd drawn from all races at the giant stadium while a number of big corporate, also chipped in with sponsorship for the successful staging of the match which was also used as part of the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority’s programmes to spruce up the country’s image.
Now four years down the road, there appears to be no end in sight to the saga that followed that big game, which gave local fans a chance to watch live, such superstars like Kaka, Dani Alves, Julio Cesar, Bastos and Robinho.
Gumede who is set to retire from football administration on March 29, after decades of service to the country’s biggest sport, said he was saddened that he will leave office without the case of the amount Zifa allegedly owe Kentaro being brought to finality.
The 68-year-old administrator, who has held various posts including being chairman of Highlanders, Zifa secretary-general and the association’s chief executive, said apart from the soccer mother body’s financial problems, he lamented the “apparent lack of support from the authorities to help clear some of the problems that have been pushed onto Zifa’s desk for a long time’’.
Gumede cited the claims by Swiss match agents Kentaro who have slapped them with a lawsuit as one of the biggest disappointments of his last four years in mainstream football administration and warned the incoming Zifa board to brace for a litany of lawsuits they could inherit.
“Zifa was never involved in the organisation of the match between the Warriors and Brazil yet even as I prepare to wave goodbye to football we find ourselves with this lawsuit from Kentaro that is still unfinished and which the new board is certain to inherit and which could continue to stalk them and disturb them the way it did with us.
“What is even more paining is that the ZTA exonerated us, the Government through the Ministry of Tourism exonerated us from the events surrounding the deal that brought Brazil to the country but somehow from the time of the inclusive government when we had Minister (David) Coltart to the current Government there hasn’t been that commitment from the authorities to end this case and the other problems that are halting progress in football.
“The help that football needs is not just about funding but the authorities also ought to help tackle the corruption that would have been exposed and also assist in the recovery of property that belongs to Zifa like the vehicles that were donated by the former Reserve Bank Governor Gideon Gono and there is documentation to support all this.
“We also find it strange that even the Sports Commission, who were actually demanding their share of the gate revenue from the Brazil match, have not helped us. We have letters from the late Vice President John Nkomo and Dr Gono but to date those vehicles have never been returned to Zifa,’’ Gumede said.
Gumede also told the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Education, Sport, Arts and Culture that Zifa’s debt had now ballooned to US$5 million which he also warned could double in order to fund the 2014 activities that include the Warriors’ qualification campaign for the 2015 African Cup of Nations.
In exonerating Zifa from the allegations by Kentaro in October 2010 that the association pocketed US$650 000 from the gate revenue of the Warriors against Brazil match, ZTA chief executive Karikoga Kaseke branded the Swiss match agents as bunch of criminals who tried to rip Zimbabwe off when the Samba Boys played here.
Kaseke said then that he was irked by claims from both Kentaro and Zifa that they did not know where the gate revenue collected from the big match went.
The ZTA boss revealed that the money realised from the sale of tickets for the match had been paid to CBZ Bank to service to an advance payment, which the financial institution had given to the tourism body to pay the Brazilians.
Brazil, Kaseke, also said had initially demanded two million pounds in order to play the Warriors before agreeing to settle for US$750 000, part of which was to be paid before the match.
“Brazil agreed to come here at a fee and initially they wanted two million pounds. They could not play before they got their money so because we did not get any from Government, we had to go to CBZ who agreed to give us US$650 000 which we topped up to give the Brazilians the appearance fee they had demanded,’’ Kaseke said.
Despite the confirmation from ZTA, Kenataro still insisted on suing Zifa in a Swiss court demanding payment of the money while the Sports Commission also sought from the association their six percent levy from the gate takings.
Online Reporter