adminZifa board member responsible for development and competitions Benedict Moyo confirmed this on Saturday after the 2-2 draw with Mozambique in an African qualifier at Gwanzura Stadium.
Moyo said Zifa has a zero tolerance to corruption in the game. He said match-fixing and age-cheating had become some of the biggest threats to the game globally.
“We disqualified four players from the camp. This was after the MRI scan detected that they could be older than what they purported to be when they came to the national team. We are serious about wanting to clean the game and we have in earnest started ensuring there are no players representing us in wrong age-groups.
“The idea about these teams is that we develop players for the future. What development is there when we are teaching our players to cheat from a young age?” said Moyo.
He said they would track the coaches or family members responsible for doctoring the boys’ ages.
“The problem does not entirely lie with the boys, it is the people behing them who are to blame. We need to deal with these so that we send a clear warning that age-cheating or any form of corruption in football will not be tolerated,” said the former Young Warriors centreback who has also coached Zisco.
Moyo said what football needed was some commitment to doing right.
“We should commit ourselves as soccer people to doing what is right, preaching fair play at whatever forum. Caf, Fifa and Interpol were clear at a recent workshop we attended in Johannesburg about match-fixing and age-cheating. What we need to appreciate is that corruption is no good for the millions of people out there,” said Moyo.
Moyo could not name the players fearing it could affect their investigations and that the players in question could be traumatised.
Meanwhile, Hunters Junior Soccer Club coach Henry Mutuma has called on Zifa to engage coaches who work with juniors on a day-to-day basis. He said these tended to know players available and understood the boys better than those coming from Division One and the Premier Soccer League.
“We have players that we know can do the job for the country. For us junior development is an everyday passion,” said Mutuma.
Bongani Ndlovu
Online Reporter