adminFarirai Machivenyika Harare Bureau
The government has reiterated that Zifa is suffering from a serious leadership crisis with those in charge of the beleaguered Association failing to discharge their mandate to lead the country’s biggest sporting discipline.
This comes against a backdrop of the raging chaos that has stalked the Warriors’ preparation for the opening tie of their 2017 Nations Cup qualifiers against Malawi, scheduled for Blantyre tomorrow, while the team’s banishment from the 2018 World Cup qualifiers is yet to be resolved.
The Warriors refused to board the plane, which was scheduled to fly them to Malawi yesterday, after a spectacular fallout between the players and the Zifa leadership over allowances, bonuses and match fees.
Some Zifa councillors have been battling to revoke the mandate, which was given the Association president Cuthbert Dube last year, to lead domestic football for another four years.
The councillors feel that Dube has failed to discharge his mandate of leading of Zifa.
The government yesterday said it will soon institute a Commission of Inquiry into the Zifa affairs amid allegations of financial mismanagement by the Dube-led board.
Sport, Arts and Culture Deputy Minister, Tabetha Kanengoni-Malinga, revealed this during the Senate’s question-and-answer session yesterday.
She was responding to a question raised by Senator Chief Musarurwa.
“We have heard so many negative news on the management of local football ranging from issues to do with financial mismanagement, the national soccer team being banned from participating in the forthcoming World Cup due to debts and the general decline of standards of local football,” Chief Musarurwa said.
“We want to know what the policy of government is with regards to management of football.”
Kanengoni-Malinga acknowledged that there were deep-rooted problems at Zifa.
“At the moment we have a problem with the leadership that is there at Zifa because they’re failing to manage football properly,” Kanengoni-Malinga said.
“Fifa regulations make it difficult for government to directly intervene in the affairs of Zifa.
“As you may be aware Fifa officials came in May and they told us about the Zifa debts, including the debt to former coach Valinhos, which resulted in our ban from participating at the World Cup.
“Working through the Sport and Recreation Commission, we’re going to put a Commission of Inquiry to look at the Zifa books and see what is happening there so that we can come up with a position and consult Fifa on the way forward.”
She said government was also waiting for the outcome of Zifa’s extraordinary and annual general meetings.
Dube’s fate could be sealed at the extraordinary meeting, which has been set for June 20, with defiant councillors insisting that the time has come for them to revoke the Zifa president’s mandate to keep leading domestic football.
Last month, the councillors revoked Dube’s mandate but Fifa intervened and kept him in his job.
Online Reporter