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Petros Kausiyo Deputy Sports Editor
JUST when some critics were questioning the sincerity of his sponsorship deal for ZIFA, Harare businessman Wicknell Chivayo yesterday took a giant step towards paying off the Tom Saintfiet debt when he wired the promised first tranche of $50 000 to the Belgian coach.
Chivayo this week signed a sponsorship deal with ZIFA president Philip Chiyangwa in which he revealed he would bankroll the broke soccer body for $1 million, starting with the pressing Saintfiet debt that was threatening to wreck the Warriors’ 2022 World Cup dream.
ZIFA owe Saintfiet $180 000 which the Belgian was granted following a ruling by the FIFA disciplinary committee which ordered that the association needed to compensate the coach for breaching terms of the agreement they had entered into with him.
Saintfiet coached the Warriors for just one day before being deported for breaching the country’s immigration laws with the Togo mentor being found guilty of executing his duties without a work permit.
But the Belgian took his case to FIFA who awarded him the damages in 2013 and have now threatened to expel Zimbabwe from the qualifying draw for the 2022 World Cup slated for Qatar if Saintfiet is not paid.
Faced with a January 4 deadline to pay Saintfiet or risk yet another Warriors expulsion from the Word Cup qualifiers, Chiyangwa turned to Chivayo who it emerged, had earlier pledged to partner the association if the Harare property mogul won the ZIFA presidency.
Chiyangwa, describing himself as a “financial engineer’’ during his campaign trail, indicated that he would source sponsorship deals for the domestic game when he assumed office as the domestic football’s leader.
Chivayo, in the company of Chiyangwa and his board members — Piraishe Mabhena, Edzai Kasinauyo and Philemon Machana — then unveiled a $1 million package for the soccer mother body at his offices on Monday afternoon and indicated that he would first expunge the Saintfiet debt before releasing funds upon request from the ZIFA boss.
The ZIFA boss told the same function where the sponsorship was unveiled on Monday afternoon that the package from Chivayo “is the start of more to come’’.
But before the ink had dried on the agreement Chivayo and Chiyangwa signed, some critics dismissed the deal as bogus and a ploy to divert people’s attention from the crisis that ZIFA had been facing in the wake of the ill-timed and ill-advised move to fire Warriors coach Callisto Pasuwa.
Pasuwa has since been reinstated with the Warriors now set to begin serious preparations for their record African Nations Championships appearance in Rwanda from January 16 to February 7
Chivayo, who is the managing director of Harare firm Intratrek (Private) Limited, put to shame those doubting his sincerity to help ZIFA when he made a telegraphic transfer to Saintfiet through the former Namibia and Malawi coach’s lawyer Wouter Lambrecht.
The businessman, however, revealed that he had been disturbed by the criticism he had received despite coming out as a rare individual partner for the troubled people’s game.
Although his intervention is set to be hugely welcomed by the Warriors and their band of fans who had already suffered the heartbreak of being thrown out of the 2018 World Cup over the debt owed to Brazilian Valinhos, Chivayo remained a humble man.
“I hope this small donation will go a long way even though I had almost changed my mind after receiving threats and mixed feelings from too many critics with no credentials. I and Mr Chiyangwa are very happy with the one page document we signed and it’s binding.
“As a patriotic Zimbabwean I encourage other successful young businessmen to emulate this noble gesture and support national programmes,’’ Chivayo said.
Saintfiet’s legal representative Lambrecht in his correspondence to confirm the agreement with Chivayo indicated that he was expecting the second and third tranches of the debt to be paid next month and in March.
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Dear Mr Chivayo
Many thanks for your e-mail and no need to apologise. I understand that there is indeed some confusion and hereby provide you once again with the invoice, which now contains a US dollar account in which you can transfer the money.
As you will see, the account to which you are invited to submit the payment is an account with the Swiss bank UBS.
Rest assured that once we have received the payment, we will confirm this to you.
We are also looking forward to receive the further payments of USD 50 000 and USD 85 000 by 31 January, 2016 and 31 March, 2016 respectively.
Sincerely,
Wouter Lambrecht
Attorney-at-law
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Lambrecht was granted the power of attorney to represent Saintfiet and also decide on the settlement agreement with ZIFA who have since June 2013 been sitting on the debt after the Belgian won his case at FIFA.
Crucially for ZIFA and for the football family at large is the fact that courtesy of Chivayo’s timely intervention, the Warriors can be rest assured that they will be part of the African countries in the hat for the 2022 World Cup draw.
Chivayo had in an earlier correspondence to Lambrecht also stressed to Saintfiet’s lawyer that he was determined to fulfil the commitment he had made to paying off the debt on behalf of ZIFA.
And Chivayo took the first major steps in line with that pledge which should also come as sweet news to Sport and Recreation Minister Makhosini Hlongwane who had impressed on ZIFA to ensure there was no further Word Cup explosion for Zimbabwe.
Online Reporter