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ZIFA board member Benedict Moyo, has defended their decision to travel to Senegal, even when they knew they didn’t have confirmation for the onward flight to Guinea, for a 2014 World Cup qualifier last weekend. Moyo was head of the delegation and he was part of the group of officials, including assistant coaches Lloyd Mutasa and Peter Ndlovu, who were left stranded in the Senegalese capital Dakar on Saturday.
Acting team manager Patrick Mutesva and chef Paradzai Manjonjo were also left stranded in Dakar.
This crew of five officials watched the match between Zimbabwe and Guinea on television, from Senegal, having wasted resources boarding a plane at Harare International Airport when they were fully aware their flight from Dakar to Conakry wasn’t confirmed.
The whole episode appears to have disturbed coach, Klaus Dieter Pagels, who decided to fly to Germany rather than, as originally scheduled, fly back with the rest of the Warriors’ squad to Harare.
Reports yesterday said Pagels will only be back here next week but why the coach decided to make an unplanned return to Germany, when his return ticket to Harare had been secured, will only deepen the mystery.
Pagels was unhappy with the way Zifa handled this trip and he must have been livid, on return to Dakar, to find himself and his players stranded at the airport, without visas to enter Senegal, when they were spending more than 10 hours there.
Bongani Ndlovu
Online Reporter