adminChronicle Sport can exclusively reveal that negotiations for a $250 000 package from Nyaradzo Funeral Services was at an advanced stage while Kayzed were expected to pour in $50 000, up from last season’s $20 000, for the annual awards while a New Zimsteel tournament deal was about to be concluded.
Though officials at the companies were non-committal yesterday, referring all questions to Zifa, there were strong indications these deals could collapse.
The crisis has already claimed one of the big sponsors, Glow Petroleum, owned by Aaron Chinhara, who has put up the FC Glow Petroleum franchise on the market reportedly with a price tag of $21 000.
The crisis, unless handled properly, could scare away more potential sponsors and this is the cost football has to pay for its administrators’ misdemeanours.
Tainted by the match-fixing scandal and ultimately suspended from all football activities during the Wednesday night board meeting together with Gift Banda, the league’s deals negotiator Patrick Hokonya will not be allowed to be involved in the deals negotiations until the issue of match-fixing is finalised.
A source within the league yesterday counted the losses.
“Hokonya was playing a one-man band in negotiating the packages and now that he has been suspended from football activities this means the deals have virtually collapsed and this is a huge loss to football.
“The awards deal had attracted $50 000 while the Nyaradzo deal had $250 000 and the draw for the New Zimsteel tournament had already been conducted,” said the source.
Zifa Central Region secretary Stanley Chapeta could not shed light into the future of the league as he was in a meeting yesterday afternoon.
derick.khumalo
Online Reporter