Defiant Chiyangwa responds to CAF President Issa Hayatou's threats

Zifa and COSAFA President Philip Chiyangwa has responded to CAF President Issa Hayatou’s threats after Chiyangwa planned to meet African football leaders in Harare this week.

Yesterday Chiyangwa told The Herald that he was aspiring CAF President Ahmad Ahmad’s campaign manager and maintained that the meeting in Harare was in fact a belated birthday and COSAFA victory celebration. Said Chiyangwa:

I am Ahmad’s campaign manager after he was endorsed by the entire COSAFA region which I also lead, and I think, it is only normal that I fight for his interests because the mission is to ensure that he gets the post that he is fighting for. In doing so, I am very clear that there are rules and regulations that govern how this process should be shaped and I am clearly aware of them and respect them, not only as an individual, but also as a leader of a major regional bloc on the continent. I will not flout these regulations no matter what, because I believe we need a fair race and that means a candidate that has been accepted by CAF for any position deserves respect and also needs to be given a chance to compete and that’s what I am doing in terms of trying to help Ahmad win his race. But that has nothing to do with the birthday celebrations that I am holding and the party for my victory in the COSAFA elections. These are two separate things and the planning for the party was done before I became Ahmad’s campaign manager.

More: Herald