bvu bvu chokwadi icho, wozodei.bye bye bhora remu zim . Ma current zim footballers kungotambira bhora mu sakubva zvichiperera imomo. Ma one

Suspended ZIFA Board Attacks Minister Kirsty Coventry, Urges Police to Investigate 'Missing' US$2 Million 'Allocated' to Football Authority voazimbabwe.comApr 3, 2023 5:00 PM  ZIFA president Felton Kamambo and Board member, barbara Chikosi. WASHINGTON - The suspended Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) board has attacked Sports Minister for allegedly lying to parliament that they misappropriated part of the US$2 million provided by the government and that some of them have been suspended over ****ual harassment issues. In a blistering statement, the suspended board members led by Felton Kamambo said, “We note with concern endless inaccurate, misleading, patently false, unsubstantiated and outright defamatory utterances recently made in Parliament on the 29th of March 2023 by the Hon Minister of Youth, Sport, Arts and Culture Kirsty Coventry during her question- and- answer session.” The ZIFA board claimed that Coventry told parliament that they failed to account for the US$2 million provided by government; four female referees have opened ****ual harassment cases with the police and a board member has been banned for life by FIFA and that they (suspended board) don’t want the suspension to be lifted by FIFA. The Kamambo-led board said, “This is not the first time the Minister has been quoted publicly making such malicious and damaging utterances as she once issued through a press statement in 2022, where she alleged that the suspended ZIFA Board Members were **** predators that were abusing innocent young women. We have all along restrained from responding to such baseless accusations out of our deep respect that we have to the Minister in her individual capacity, her Ministerial office and more importantly that of the Appointing Authority sadly to say the unprovoked attacks continue unabated. “…The false assertion that ZIFA was in acts of corruption failed to account for USD$2million given to them by government. No such money was ever given to ZIFA during the three years the suspended Board were in office. ZIFA only received USD$53 000 from government in 2019 and such was fully acquitted). SRC also confirmed same through their forensic auditors on ZIFA affairs that only RTGS$85 800 was paid to ZIFA by government and that all such was fully acquitted. The Minister therefore misrepresented to Parliament, the entire Country and rest of the world that government gave ZIFA through her Ministry a whooping USD$2million dollars which has not been acquitted to this day and justified the ZIFA Board suspension on that false narrative.” The Board said it is untrue that three ZIFA Board members were accused of ****ual harassment of female referees and that one former Board member had since been found guilty by FIFA and another was facing disciplinary processes by FIFA. “This is utterly false and the Minister know this. The only one person found on the wrong side of ethics and not ****ual harassment was a referees committee official and not a ZIFA Board member as falsely alleged by the Minister and to this day no ZIFA Board member has been found guilty or is to the best of our knowledge undergoing disciplinary processes with FIFA … False utterance that the Minister and SRC did not want the suspension lifted when in actually fact they are secretly making numerous but failed requests for reinstatement to FIFA with the latest one being on Monday 26th of March 2023 through a virtual meeting with FIFA they had requested. “The Honourable Minister chose again to mislead Parliament by claiming she was not yet interested in ZIFA reinstatement until she and SRC are satisfied of ZIFA’s readiness. The Minister falsely misled Parliament knowing fully well that two days before her utterances in Parliament they had actually attempted through the SRC and failed to convince FIFA to change their conditions and decision on Zimbabwe. The other such attempts were made after the draft forensic audit and another after the final forensic audit and in all those instances including the virtual meeting they requested and were granted by FIFA on 27th of March 2023, FIFA informed them that the only way for ZIFA reinstatement was to meet conditions set by FIFA in February 2022 when Zimbabwe was suspended and that all these other efforts were a waste of time and resources.” The Board said, “Instead of the Minister telling Parliament the truth she cleverly and falsely made the now unpopular remark that she and SRC were not seeking or interested in FIFA reinstatement clearly out of fear that if she told the public the truth that FIFA keeps rejecting their so-called numerous roadmaps for lack of meeting their set conditions in FIFA 2022 letter of suspension. “Pursuance to clear our names we have had to reluctantly take the following position having realised that we are duty bound to defend our good names and reputation and also to tell the truth regarding why Zimbabwe remains suspended. The truth is no process outside FIFA set conditions will see FIFA reinstating Zimbabwe and such was blatantly conveyed to them in the numerous secretive attempts by SRC to get FIFA to change their decision. For the record we remain law abiding common citizens and believe we continue to be unfairly persecuted. The laws of the Nation are clear that one is innocent until proven guilty and we challenge those that are accusing us to lay bare evidence of such. It can not be difficult to show that indeed ZIFA were given the non-existent USD$2million if it ever existed.” The Board noted that it is now tempted to believe that indeed USD2million may have been released for football by Treasury but such may have been misappropriated by “our accusers who are now using our good names to acquit for what they themselves have used. “We call upon law enforcement authorities to investigate where this USD$2million went to and be shown evidentiary proof for same. We feel for the players, administrators, technical officials and soccer loving fans and stakeholders who have been deprived of organised football and if we had our way football will never ever have been suspended. Apart therefore from telling this truth, there is nothing we can do until and unless the FIFA conditions are met. Once again. we publicly plead our innocency and challenge our persecutors to publicly share any evidence of their accusations.” The Board further said, “FIFA have refused the SRC several pleas because they have not been favoured from any evidence serve the naked unsubstantiated allegations which have failed to stick more than 16 months after our suspension. In the mean time we have formally brought in writing to the Speaker of Parliament’s attention the contemptuously false conveyed information to the August House through a sworn Honourable member. We have also through our lawyers written and served the Minister with a letter of demand asking her to do the honourable thing through retraction and public apology to us for the pain she has caused.” Coventry was unavailable for comment as she was not responding to calls on her mobile phone.