More trouble for Zifa

Sunday to fulfil their reverse fixture assignment.
But coach Jairos Tapera and his charges did not show up in the Angolan capital after Zifa cancelled the trip at the 11th hour citing lack of funding for the journey.
Despite arguing that they are hamstrung by financial problems, Zifa have been roundly criticised for the botched manner they handled the abortive trip.
It has also emerged that apart from the possibility of Zimbabwe’s Under-20 side getting a three-year ban from the Confederation of African Football, the continental body has a standing rule that teams which fail to fulfil the return leg having played at home first would have to reimburse their opponents for expenses incurred and loss of earnings.
In this case, Zifa could eventually find themselves using more than the US$35 000 they failed to raise in order to send to the Young Warriors out to Angola last Friday.
According to Article 6, sub-sections (a) and (b) of the Caf standing rules governing such competitions:
l The participating Association must play all the matches of the preliminary tournament.
l In case of default, the team shall be responsible for the financial and other consequences to be decided by the organising committee.
l A team withdrawing or renouncing to play the second leg matches after having the first leg at home shall refund the opponent a sum equivalent to the receipts, which it could have realised if the match was played. This amount shall be determined by the organising committee on the average receipts declared by the concerned association on the Caf matches.
The Angolans could use their prerogative as provided for in these rules and stake a claim for the losses incurred in preparing for a match that never was.
Furthermore the Angolans could also claim the potential revenue that may have been generated from the match.
There were also indications last night that the Sport and Recreation Commission in their capacity as the country’s supreme sports governing body will demand a report from Zifa with a view to taking some sanctions for the national embarrassment that the association’s ineptitude has caused.
Although it is common knowledge that domestic football has been struggling for funding, the Zifa board which has relied heavily on one person — its president Cuthbert Dube — should take the flak for the embarrassment.
The Young Warriors boob brought into perspective the extent to which the Zifa board has literally been turned into a bunch of parasites feeding off the efforts and benevolence of Dube.
This is because on the occasion that Dube who has been personally bankrolling Zifa’s activities could not be available to chip as he is out of the country on business, none of the rest of the Zifa board members could step up to the plate and run around to save the trip.
Ironically the same board met twice in succession over the last two weeks to discuss the Warriors, Asiagate and the roadmap for the Nations Cup and World Cup qualifying campaigns.
It appears on both occasions that the board met, they never made concrete plans about the trip including sending an SOS to the government, the SRC and the corporate world outlining the implications of the failure to fulfil this fixture was sent out on time.
Rather than the risk being banned for three years and fined heavily, the Zifa board would probably on reflection realise hat it was better to have withdrawn from the competition before a ball was kicked rather than throw the game into disrepute through their latest actions.
Former Young Warriors manager Eddie Chivero has already questioned why an emergency board meeting cannot be staged to discuss the events surrounding the Under-20 team’s failure to travel and the answer will most probably be that the rest of the board is waiting for Dube to return home next week.
It appears the Under-20 team is the most unfortunate national football team, as it became the first side to fail to fulfil a competitive fixture.
The Young Warriors also remain the only national football side never to have qualified for the finals of a continental competition.
Their counterparts, the Under-17 have been to three finals before while the Under-23 played at the All-Africa Games in Cairo and Harare.
The senior team has played at two editions of the African Cup of Nations while the Mighty Warriors played at the Women’s Nations Cup finals in Nigeria before.