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Ricky Zililo Senior Sports Reporter
ZIFA have admitted that time is running out to clear $81,000 owed to former Warriors coach Valinhos and get Fifa to readmit Zimbabwe into the 2018 World Cup qualifiers.
There are three months left before Fifa conducts the main 2018 World Cup qualifying draw which will take place at the Konstantinovsky Palace in Strelna, Russia on July 25.
After settling the Valinhos arrears, Zifa will have to seek permission from Fifa who banned the country from participating for a place at the global showpiece set for Russia.
The Zifa chief executive officer Jonathan Mashingaidze – the man who ignored Fifa warnings on Valinhos – is on record as saying: “There’s work in progress and we are very confident that we will extinguish the debt by end of April. After that, we will engage the Fifa leadership with a view of being re-admitted for the 2018 World Cup qualifiers.”
Appealing for government and corporate world support yesterday, Zifa spokesman Xolisani Gwesela admitted that time is no longer on their side.
“We’re running out of time. We want to extinguish this debt immediately,” said Gwesela.
“Our lawyers have already engaged Valinhos’ legal representatives and are still deliberating and discussing the issue of settlement. We hope to reach common ground as soon as possible.”
The beleaguered national football motherbody’s spokesperson could not be drawn into giving a deadline of clearing the debt that is haunting the nation.
Initially the debt stood at $67,000 but has ballooned due to legal costs.
A fortnight ago, the Premier Soccer League released $65,000 which was outstanding levy, player registration and licensing fees from last year. Expectations were high that a huge chunk of that amount would be directed towards clearing Valinhos’ debt.
Zifa has on countless times extended a begging bowel to well-wishers and they remain hopeful that they will get a helping hand to clear their debts.
“We’ve been working tirelessly to get us back into the 2018 Fifa World Cup race. But at the same time we are taking this opportunity to appeal for partnership from the corporate world and the government. Without the government and the corporate world certainly Zifa alone can’t bring football glory,” said Gwesela.
Already the government — through the Ministry of Sports, Arts and Culture – is making frantic efforts to help beleaguered Zifa raise $81,000 to clear Valinhos debt.
Because of Zifa’s bungling, the Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture Andrew Langa a fortnight ago said they’ve been forced to intervene and save the nation the embarrassment of missing out on an opportunity to participate in the 2018 World Cup.
Besides the Valinhos matter, Zifa are embroiled in another potentially explosive case with Tom Saintfiet who won a $150,000 lawsuit for unfair dismissal.
Originally, Saintfiet was claiming $451,086.46, and is being represented by Spanish lawyers Ruiz, Huerta and Crespo who have since obtained a writ of execution after being awarded $150,000 in damages, for coaching the Warriors for just one day, during the 2012 Nations Cup qualifiers.
The Belgian coach was smuggled onto the Warriors coaching staff by the previous Zifa board, led by Cuthbert Dube, in 2010, and took charge of two training sessions for the Warriors, in one day, in the week leading to a 2012 Nations Cup qualifier against Cape Verde at the National Sports Stadium.
He signed a deal to coach the Warriors for four years but his romance with the Warriors ended after just one day after he was deported for flouting the country’s immigration rules by working here without a work permit.
Online Reporter