SPORTS REPORTER
Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation Minister, Kirsty Coventry, is set to appoint the interim board to run the affairs of ZIFA following the dissolution of the Elton Kamambo led board on Tuesday this week.
Other board members were Phillimon Machana, Farai Jere, Sugar Chagonda, Bryton Malandule and Barbra Chikosi.
The Sports and Recreation Commission (SRC) dissolved the ZIFA board for gross incompetence, misappropriation of funds, failure to deal with issues of sexual harassment raised against some of the top officials, failure to address gender imbalances in the game and lack of a developmental plan for the game, among other charges.
SRC chairman, Gerald Mlotshwa confirmed Coventry has the mandate to appoint the interim board.
“We (SRC) are not going to appoint the interim board. It’s the Ministry (of Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation) which has the mandate to appoint the interim ZIFA board,” he said.
Mlotshwa said the commission already had a list of individuals that it recommended to Coventry for the interim committee to run the affairs of ZIFA until a new board is elected.
He added that the commission considered the plight of the players who worked hard to play at the Afcon showcase, but concluded that it could not delay the suspension.
“I think let us look at it this way, the decision made by the board is in the national interest. I understand that there is the individual aspect.
“But if we were to apply that criterion, we would never have the right time. Our collective decision was to say let us bite the bullet, let us deal with this once and for all. We need to act, never mind the individual disappointments, that is the sacrifice that people have to make.”
He is hoping FIFA will support their move to dissolve the ZIFA board.
SRC risked possible ban by Fifa which would consequently see the Warriors losing their place at the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) finals in Cameroon in January.
SRC, a government arm, is hoping to complete its clean-up and facilitation of holding of elections within the next two years.
FIFA sanctions would see the world governing body closing financial tapes as well as ban national teams from taking part in football events on the international scene.
But SRC insisted that it did its homework before coming up with such a drastic decision.
“Insofar as ZIFA is concerned, we have done the necessary consultations. We are prepared for whatever might happen. If FIFA decides to ban Zimbabwean football, we are prepared. We have planned for that. If that happens we look at it as being a short-term measure. I think Zimbabwean football needs this space and this opportunity to fix itself. If that takes us a year, if it takes us two years and we are out of the international football scene, that is fine, everyone accepts that. If we are suspended from Afcon next year, that is okay. Believe me, we are prepared for that,” Mlotshwa said.
