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Ray Bande
Senior Reporter
THERE has been abnormal silence from the ZIFA Normalisation Committee over the contentious boardroom promotion of Bikita Minerals FC into the Premier Soccer League, a decision that league winners, Tenax FC have prayed for the intervention of both the NC and Sports and Recreation Committee (SRC).
It is now two weeks after the Eastern Region Soccer League administration made the contentious decision to award maximum points to Bikita Minerals FC from their season final match against Grayham FC, a development that propelled the lithium miners onto the top of the Eastern Region Division One League and automatically gift them the much coveted Premiership promotion.
The match had ended on a one-all stalemate.
Bikita Minerals FC approached ERSL administration, complaining about the use of an ‘ineligible player’ by Grayham FC.
In the absence of one of their committee members, the ERSL four-member committee — two of them who were present at the ill-fated Bikita Minerals FC and Grayham FC match venue — convened a ‘meeting’ to address the issue and decided to award Bikita Minerals FC maximum points, thereby handing the lithium miners promotion into the Premier Soccer League ahead of Tenax FC who had ended the season on top of the ERSL log standings, thanks to the prison wardens’ two points lead.
When this newspaper sought the ZIFA Normalisation Committee’s response to the plea for intervention made by Tenax FC, chief executive, Yvone Manwa pledged to respond to questions emailed early last week.
Since then, Manwa has incessantly been promising to respond, only to provide a vague response early this week saying: “We have hit a snag”.
When contacted for comment, Tenax FC chairperson, Stafani Masina said: “We are of the opinion that we deserve to be crowned Eastern Region Division One champions.
“There are a lot of unanswered questions including the body that presided over the so-called Bikita Minerals/Grayham hearing. We have pleaded with the ZIFA Normalisation Committee as well as Sports and Recreation Commission to intervene and solve this impasse, but up to now we are still waiting for their response.
“This is not the end of it all. There are other avenues and options that we are still weighing as a club in the event that we fail to get satisfactory response from the two bodies we have approached for assistance.”
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