Women Football bans coach, players

Midlands Sports Correspondent
THE Zifa Central Region Women Football Association has suspended JM Academy coach Lameck Nyengera together with players Thokozile Khoza and Michelle Banda from all activities for one year. Nyengera has been fined $200 for facilitating the transfer of the two players to feature for JM Academy without clearance from Chipembere Queens a team they were contracted to.

JM Academy were also docked 12 points for games they played against Zhanira Queens, Green Mambas, Shumba Queens and ZRP Shurugwi.
The Victor Chakanetsa chaired disciplinary committee found the two players guilty of turning out for three clubs in one season  without due clearance from their club, Chipembere Queens and the regional football body.

Khoza and Banda had also turned out for Gweru United prior to joining JM  Academy while they were still contracted to Chipembere Queens.
The disciplinary committee noted that the JM Academy coach abused his position of being the Midlands National Youth Games coach and failed to release the players to their club at the end of the games held in August in Bulawayo. Instead he took them to his club.

“He acted unsportingly by moving with contracted players  from one team to another without due clearance from their club and the mother body. He used the selection  into the National Youth games team  as his trump card.

“A good example has to be set to avoid setting a wrong precedence. The coach and players’ behaviour brought the game of football and the Central  Region Women’s football into disrepute and was in breach of Order 5.6 of the Zimbabwe National Women Soccer League and regulations of 2011,” read part of the verdict.

Nyengera was also accused of verbally abusing the women football league boss in the region, Beular Musarah after she                                     had alerted match officials at one of the matches that the players in question were ineligible to play but got away with a caution.
The trio have since been given seven days to appeal to the Zifa Appeals Committee if they are not happy with the judgment.