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Eddie Chikamhi Senior Sports Reporter
ZIFA have set in motion preparations for the 2021 AFCON finals after setting up a fund-raising committee to mobilise resources for the team’s participation.
The Warriors are set to be one of the 24 finalists at the continental football jamboree to be hosted by Cameroon between January 9 and February 6 next year.
And in a bid to avoid the usual last minute preparations, the ZIFA board resolved at their recent executive committee meeting to put in place a fund-raising committee that is provisionally chaired by the association’s board member responsible for finance, Phillemon Machana.
“The Exco is fully aware of the importance of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers and resolved to institute the AFCON 2021 fundraising committee,” said ZIFA spokesperson Xolisani Gwesela.
“The committee will be provisionally chaired by chairman of the Finance Committee, Mr Phillemon Machana. Other members of the committee include executive committee member, Mr Sugar Chagonda, and Warriors captain, Knowledge Musona.
“The captain will also be signatory to the Fundraising bank account for transparency. The other member of the committee is the General Manager of national teams, Mr Wellington Mpandare.
“Additional members of the committee will be announced in due course and this will see Mr Machana moving to the position of vice Chairperson. The Exco resolved that transparency will be the hallmark of the committee and every cent will be accounted for,” said Gwesela.
The fund-raising committee has at least four months to mobilise the resources. The Warriors were drawn in Group B and will face Southern African opponents Malawi, and West Africans Senegal and Guinea.
The team is looking to progress from the group stage for the first time but they would need to avoid the chaos that rocked the previous two AFCON finals appearances in Gabon (2017) and Egypt (2019).
Players nearly boycotted the two events because of unfulfilled promises and lack of transparency by the domestic football mother body. ZIFA claimed the association did not have adequate resources.
Online Reporter