Mliswa Claims Corrupt Cabal Has Taken Over Football Administration In Zimbabwe
Former Hurungwe West and Norton MP, Temba Mliswa has warned Zimbabwean football fans that the administration of the sport in the country has been taken over by a powerful and corrupt cabal, with money playing a central role.
Mliswa, PHD Ministries founder Walter Magaya, PSL chairman Farai Jere, and Warriors legend Benjani Mwaruwari, were barred from running for the ZIFA Presidency in a month by the ZIFA Electoral Committee.
Six candidates—businessman Nqobile Magwizi, Northern Region Soccer League chairperson Martin Kweza, former ZIFA board member Philemon Machana, Team Zimbabwe UK CEO Marshal Gore, former PSL chairperson Twine Phiri, and former footballer Makwinje Phiri—have successfully passed the integrity test and are eligible to run for the ZIFA presidency.
Mliswa further said that this cabal has not limited its influence to football alone, but has also targeted rugby and cricket. He said:
Many have missed the forest for the trees in the ZIFA saga. The minutiae of individual candidates such as myself, removed from contesting, is a mere addendum to the actual conspiracy by an elite clique intent on capturing the whole football sector.
It’s a plot which is playing before national eyes but many have missed it. As I have previously stated, my ambition and goal isn’t just to enter the fray and iron out things but to stop the serious capture which many are overlooking.
We have already seen the same with rugby where Mtongwiza is enjoying unparalleled profligacy and wanton control.
The very letter by one, Kufa, alleging why I shouldn’t stand had internal documents, minutes from ZRU meetings, which are supposed to be confidential.
It’s a brazen revelation of collusion between varied people working to undermine the emergence of independent & intrepid minds like myself in the ZIFA ecosystem.
The same was tried with Cricket but ZC Chairman Tavengwa Mukuhlani was strong enough to resist such criminal overtures.
Now they have come to football. Under the guise of an SRC-sanctioned vetting process proxies have been allowed through while some of us, deemed ungovernable and uncontrollable, have been swiftly supplanted by dolls with hidden puppeteers.
Mliswa claimed that among the six candidates allowed to contest the ZIFA presidency, most are mere proxies strategically positioned to further elitist objectives, primarily focused on the large-scale misappropriation of resources. He said:
Many of those remaining are mere proxies strategically placed to advance the elitist objectives central of which will be the massive pilfering of resources.
The vetting, judging by the names remaining, was a literal handpicking of convenient and pliable candidates.
Therefore we should be careful not to amateurishly redact this scandal into a fiasco about Temba being removed but comprehend the full conspiracy which entails a long game to disembowel the football sector.
Tentacles are already spreading as reflected by the MWOS and Scotland saga where money was the chief player.
Dubious characters with questionable conduct in the running in the game have been kept all at the expense of the game. It’s a complete fiasco and funeral for national football.
The MWOS and Scottland FC promotion saga centred around the fierce competition between the two teams in the Northern Region Soccer League (NRSL) for a coveted spot in the Premier Soccer League (PSL). As the season drew to a close, both teams were locked in a tight race, with each vying for promotion.
Scottland FC, owned by Pedzisai “Scott” Sakupwanya, reportedly offered significant financial incentives to its players to secure the championship.
Meanwhile, MWOS FC became embroiled in allegations of match-fixing, with claims that some of their players were approached by soccer legends to throw games, ultimately benefiting Scottland in their pursuit of the title.
The situation came to a head when Scottland FC was awarded maximum points from an abandoned match against Karoi United.
This controversial decision propelled them to the top of the table, allowing Scottland to secure promotion to the PSL.
More: Pindula News
