SRC Reaches 'Agreement' With FIFA On How To Handle ZIFA Suspension
The Sports and Recreation Commission (SRC) has started a dialogue with FIFA over the suspension of the Zimbabwe Football Association.
Meanwhile, the suspended Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) board has said it will be taking the SRC to the Administrative Court for recourse.
The SRC suspended the ZIFA board two weeks ago citing irregularities in the handling of finances as well as breaching COVID-19 protocols, among other transgressions.
Zifa has since escalated the case to CAF and FIFA.
On Monday, the SRC announced that it had reached an “agreement” with FIFA on how the ZIFA issue would be addressed following a meeting on Saturday.
According to SRC, dialogue with Fifa is an ongoing process, but the ZIFA board led by Felton Kamambo remains suspended.
Yesterday, Zifa legal advisor Chenaimoyo Gumiro responded to the charges that led to the board members’ suspension, saying SRC took a wrong approach and should have engaged the football mother body the same way it had engaged FIFA. He said:
We are aware of the engagements of SRC and Fifa and we believe that is the way to go about it. Fifa promotes fair governance and it does not rush to make decisions before engaging all parties involved. This is what the SRC should have done and if that engagement with Zifa had been done, surely we would not have come to where we are. While the engagements between SRC and Fifa take place, we will seek to get the suspension lifted locally by approaching the Administrative Court.
Other suspended board members, who include Philemon Machana, Farai Jere, Barbra Chikosi and Bryton Malandule, want their suspension to be set aside.
While SRC is saying ZIFA mismanaged public funds at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations finals in Egypt, the association says it only got US$53 000 from the government and the money was disbursed to players.
Gumiro challenged SRC to explain what happened to the funds that were raised by a committee established for that purpose ahead of the tournament.
More: NewsDay
