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Sikhumbuzo Moyo Senior Sports Reporter
ZIFA has managed to negotiate with some of its creditors to lessen its debt by $2 million.
This was disclosed by the association’s chief executive officer Jonathan Mashingaidze in an official statement on the football mother body’s website.
According to Mashingaidze, the Zifa debt now stands at $4 million, down from $6 million as a result of the association’s debt retirement plan which was set in motion by Fifa officials Ashford Mamelodi and Zelklifi Ngoufonja’s visit to Zimbabwe last year.
“With the help of the Fifa officials, the Zifa leadership engaged some creditors whose concurrence to slash amounts they are owed has seen a drastic reduction of the total debt from $6 million to $4 million. We’re grateful for the kind gesture by our creditors and partners in the game of football and in that vein we kindly appeal to all our creditors to extend a similar consideration,” said Mashingaidze.
The Zifa head of secretariat said 90 percent of the debt was as a result of national team assignments. Mashingaidze said last year, Zifa managed to publish audited accounts for the years 2010 to 2013 and that the assembly had ratified them at the assembly meeting held in July of the same year.
“It was highlighted in the audited reports that the $700,000 alleged to be missing is actually money owed to creditors for services rendered on credit. Zifa’s four-year strategic plan provides a robust debt servicing plan and a vibrant revenue generating drive and austerity measures will be adopted in all the activities of the secretariat, the board and the assembly in order to stop the debt from ballooning.
“All football stakeholders are called upon to partake in the turn around strategy which will reduce expenditure at the same time re-establishing trust between Zifa and its current and future partners. It is a global phenomenon that national teams are funded by their respective governments, therefore the same should be the case in Zimbabwe,” he said.
Zifa communications manager Xolisani Gwesela, when asked to provide a list of the creditors who offered to forego their money and how much they were owed, said that arrangement was between Fifa, Zifa and the concerned creditors and therefore could not be made public.
“We’ll only go public when we’ve concluded our discussions with them. Some of them don’t want to go public for various reasons,” said Gwesela.
Londile Moyo
Online Reporter