tawandamusarurwa
Petros Kausiyo
Sports Editor
FOUR years after their forgettable adventure at the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Egypt, where they hogged the limelight for endless off-field problems and were branded mercenaries by some within the ZIFA leadership, the Warriors have lifted the lid on the debacle that characterised their stay in Cairo.
Zimbabwe, then under history-making coach Sunday Chidzambwa, arrived in Egypt for their fourth dance at the continental soccer showpiece on the back of some solid showings in the qualifiers.
They had also excelled in the COSAFA Cup, which they had won back-to-back in 2017 and 2018.
However, at AFCON, they were put in a tricky Group A that included hosts Egypt, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
All hell broke loose on the eve of their opening showdown against the Pharaohs at the Cairo International Stadium following contractual disputes between players and the Felton Kamambo-led ZIFA board.
The disputes drew in the Confederation of African Football (CAF), which offered to pay players and later deduct the money from ZIFA’s share of the AFCON proceeds.
Ironically, ZIFA were having disputes with the Warriors over money, at a time when Government — through the Warriors fundraising committee — had raised funds to be used by Chidzambwa and his men in Egypt.
Kamambo and his ousted colleagues Philemon Machana and Bryton Malandule have, however, steadfastly denied receiving meaningful Government assistance.
They insist they only received US$53 000 from the Ministry of Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation, through the Sports and Recreation Commission (SRC).
Players who spoke to The Sunday Mail Sport on condition of anonymity for fear of victimisation by the association indicated that they were made to understand that funding for their AFCON campaign in Egypt was coming from Government.
“We are surprised to hear that Government did nothing to assist us in Egypt, when, in fact, it was ZIFA president Kamambo who addressed us and told us that Government had provided funds to meet all our demands as per the contracts,” said one of the players.
“We actually had a problem with Malandule, who kept claiming that there was no money, and this created huge tension, resulting in players losing trust in him.”
It has also since emerged that apart from Government, China-based striker Nyasha Mushekwi forked out over US$161 000 to pay the squad’s appearance fees for their final group game against DRC.
According to their contracts, each of the 23 players who were in Egypt was entitled to US$5 000 in appearance fees and a daily allowance of US$150.
Of late, Kamambo, Machana and Malandule have been on a crusade against Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation Minister Kirsty Coventry over comments she made during a question-and-answer session in Parliament recently.
Coventry told the legislators that ZIFA had not accounted for the funds provided to them.
“For clarity, the SRC stepped in and suspended the (ZIFA) board for three main reasons. The first was that the Government had given ZIFA about US$2 million that has never been accounted for,” she said.
“It wasn’t FIFA money but Zimbabwean money that parliamentarians should want to know where it has gone because it was never accounted for.”
However, the trio of Kamambo, Machana and Malandule — with the support of ex-Central Region chairperson Stanley Chapeta and former chief executive officer Joseph Mamutse — have also threatened to sue Minister Coventry for her comments.
They contend she misrepresented facts.
In their statement read by Machana at a recent press conference, the ousted ZIFA board members also distanced themselves from allegations of sexual abuse.
“We note with concern endless, inaccurate, misleading, (and) certainly unsubstantial and outright defamation utterances recently made in Parliament on 29 March by Honourable Minister Coventry during a question-and-answer session,” said Machana.
“This is not the first time that the minister has been quoted publicly making such malicious and damaging utterances. She once issued a press statement in 2022, where she alleged the suspended members were sex predators.”
The players, however, said they felt abandoned by Kamambo’s executive while in Egypt, hence the endless rows over contracts and appearance fees.
“As far as we know, the daily allowances and other payments related to our contracts came from Government and we even had Minister (Kazembe) Kazembe coming to Egypt to try and resolve the serious problems, which were threatening our participation in the tournament.
“ZIFA did not also honour the pledge to pay US$500 each for the draw bonus for the game against Uganda.
“And it was even worse for the final match because they said there was no money, and Nyasha offered to pay the appearance fees if ZIFA didn’t.
“So, when ZIFA failed to pay us in foreign currency and only gave us $7 000 after we came back, all the players had vowed not to play in the qualifiers for the 2021 AFCON.
“Nyasha then lived up to his pledge and paid us our allowances.”
They also claim that Nyasha and Marvelous Nakamba ended up buying air tickets for some players when they left Egypt.
“ZIFA had not paid for air tickets for all of the players yet they had chartered a flight for supporters and councillors,’’ the player said.
The national teams’ general manager, Wellington Mpandare, confirmed that, indeed, Mushekwi had bailed out the Warriors for their match against DRC.
Just like former captain Knowledge Musona, ex-goalkeepers’ trainer Brenna Msiska and Chidzambwa before him, Mpandare noted that the Cairo debacle had been worsened by poor communication between ZIFA and the players.
Chidzambwa, the country’s most successful national coach, told The Sunday Mail Sport in an earlier interview that “when the team was in Egypt, ZIFA deposited some of our dues in foreign currency accounts, but once the team returned home, the balance was paid in local currency at the ratio of one to one’’.
He was also reportedly promised a car, which never materialised.
This meant that Chidzambwa and his lieutenants, who were owed at least US$14 000 each at the end of the AFCON finals, only received RTGS$14 000 when they had returned home.
Mpandare felt that had Government not chipped in with funding, including about US$300 000 that was paid to members of the technical department and the camping fees at the hotel they stayed before moving to the official CAF hotel, the Warriors campaign could have been worse.
Such was the intensity of the disputes that Kamambo was forced to withdraw former referee Malandule as head of delegation and dispatched Premier Soccer League chairperson Farai Jere to take over the role.
Although he has chosen to be modest about his role, Mushekwi has continued to receive plaudits and respect from fellow players for ensuring that the Warriors remained committed to national duty.
They subsequently qualified for the 2021 AFCON in Cairo, Egypt, albeit under Croat Zdravko Logarusic.
“A lot of players had been so frustrated and wanted to quit, but Nyasha flew to Zimbabwe and made available our outstanding appearance fees in foreign currency as per the contracts and urged us to continue playing for the country,’’ another player added.
Mpandare also had a word of advice for the ousted ZIFA board members, urging them to avoid straining the association’s relationship with the Government.
“If they have any queries, I am sure there are better ways of handling this and of engaging with the authorities than to engage in a public spat with the minister,” he said.
“Assuming the ZIFA Congress, which recalled them, decides to reinstate them, how will they work with the Government?
“I think they should apologise to the President, as the appointing authority, and to the minister for their actions, which are also regrettable at a time when the football family is advocating Government to directly fund the national teams.”
Twitter: @petrospablo1
Online Reporter