Walter Magaya, the owner of the Heart Group which owns the Heart Stadium in Waterfalls, Harare, has threatened to sue ZIFA Normalisation Committee chairperson Lincoln Mutasa.
This comes after ZIFA condemned the stadium as unfit to host international matches.
In a statement on August 5, the ZIFA Normalisation Committee claimed that during preliminary inspections, the Heart Stadium failed to produce a required Stadium Safety and Security Certificate.
The statement also alleged that the stadium lacks a media tribune, a designated area for vulnerable people, and its ablution facilities do not meet standards.
However, through his lawyer Admire Rubaya, Magaya has refuted these claims, accusing Mutasa of having an “insatiable” desire to destroy his football investments.
In a letter of demand dated August 6, the Heart Group stated that Mutasa or ZIFA had never actually inspected the stadium.
The Heart Group has demanded that Mutasa retract his statement or face a US$1 million lawsuit in damages for allegedly lying about the status of their stadium. Part of the letter reads:
Our client was shocked that you claim to have conducted preliminary inspections of the Heart Stadium regards its suitability to host Ngezi Platinum Stars and Dynamos Football Clubs’ preliminary CAF Competitions Fixtures.
It is very unprofessional for you to communicate falsehoods to the nation in the absence of a physical inspection.
Our client wants you to advise the nation as to when you requested to formally conduct the so-called preliminary inspections specifically to ascertain if our client’s stadium is suitable to host the CAF Competitions Fixtures.
Our client instructs that it never received any formal request from ZIFA regards being had to the alleged preliminary inspection.
Furthermore, it challenges you to provide the nation with that request as well as the invitation and/or confirmation from the Heart Stadium administration authorising you to visit his state-of-the-art stadium for the preliminary inspections.
If you do not produce the same, it simply means that you have misled our football-loving nation.
One wonders why you would stoop so low for purposes of claiming that you had done preliminary inspections yet none have been conducted.
It is our client’s contention that you have an insatiable appetite to destroy our client’s reputation in circumstances where your role is to administer Zimbabwean football to be world-class.
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