ZIFA breaks silence over COSAFA AGM incident

The Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) have responded to an incident which occurred at the COSAFA annual general meeting in South Africa on Saturday.

The regional body barred ZIFA officials led by president Felton Kamambo from entering the event owing to failure to pay subscriptions even though nasty relations between them and former president Philip Chiyangwa, who heads COSAFA, explain the fiasco better.

ZIFA communications officer Xolisani Gwesela released a media statement in reaction to the incident informing the nation on the association’s position regarding it.

“The Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) wishes to inform all football loving stakeholders of the outcome of the 2020 Cosafa Annual General Meeting .

Regrettably, the Zifa delegation was denied entry into the conference room by hired security details that were placed for that purpose on the allegations of not being in good standing. This was despite efforts by Zifa to pay any dues through Fifa over and above overtures made since Friday to get Cosafa Secretariat to provide other details, invoices and/or amounts that may have been owing. Such information was deliberately withheld for the entire week before and during the AGM and was only revealed after the meeting in the form of two additional invoices.

Zifa is convinced such was deliberately done to ensure the Association would not have a say in congress deliberations especially after having given to Cosafa prior notice to move a motion to discuss the various transgressions by the Cossfa President as more fully appear in the 2019 Cosafa audit report which included questionable payments done to Dr Chiyangwa which Zifa believed were excessive including proposed redressive action to be taken.

Zifa is however happy to inform all football loving stakeholders that the Association has neither been banned nor suspended but was simply stopped from attending the AGM.

Cosafa secretariat finalky soon after the Agm gave the Zifa delegation through two invoices of R10 000 and another of USD$3000 as affiliation for 2020 and appeal on Warriors Ban respectively.

Zifa has since paid the R10 000 while the USD$3000 will be settled in the course of the week.

Zifa however like many among the Cosafa delegates including a majority members of the Cosafa Exco delegates were not amused by the apparent shenanigans that were employed in efforts to take away a member’s voice. Be that as it may, Zifa shall be partaking in all selected Cosafa tournaments and activities in 2020 and beyond. Football is bigger than individuals and in our case 2020 is the year football will do the talking.

Meanwhile Zifa had a very progressive and successful scheduled meeting with the Fifa regional office to discuss among others the debt restructuring process. Details of this will soon be announced to our existing creditors who have beared the brunt for so many years without their dues being settled.

We urge all football loving stakeholders to gear up for an exciting year ahead. ZIFA remains a full member of the Cosafa family and that right has not been taken away either temporarily or permanently.

We urge stakeholders to avoid unofficial statements attributed to a known social media blogger who was hired to be a nuisance during the whole duration of the Cosafa Agm.

Finally we wish the young mighty Warriors happy hunting tomorrow as we seek to conquer and devour the Botswana U-17 Women national team .

Long live our football. 2020 let football do the talking,”  read the statement.

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