Sports Commission Awaits FIFA Communication
The Sports and Recreation Commission said that they are yet to get official communication from FIFA on the fate of the suspended Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) board led by Felton Kamambo.
Early this week, FIFA Chief Member Association Officer, Kenny Jean-Marie, wrote to ZIFA advising them that the SRC should reinstate the association’s suspended board by 3 January or the country risk sanctions.
The letter was addressed to the ZIFA chief executive officer Joseph Mamutse, who has also been suspended by SRC.
Meanwhile, the ZIFA secretariat, which was also copied on the correspondence, have forwarded the letter to SRC.
Responding to questions from The Herald, SRC board chairman Gerald Mlotshwa indicated that their hands were tied since FIFA did not address them directly. Said Mlotshwa:
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The SRC is yet to receive any official communication addressed to it from FIFA. When that happens it will respond officially.
SRC suspended the ZIFA board last month on allegations of misappropriation of public funds and sexual abuse of female referees, among other charges.
SRC subsequently appointed a nine-member ZIFA Restructuring Committee, meant to review the national game, and also conduct a forensic audit but FIFA demanded that the decision be revoked. Jean-Marie wrote:
… we consider that the aforementioned decided decisions by the SRC to suspend all members of the ZIFA executive committee based on mere allegations without proof of a final and binding ruling, and subsequently to appoint a ‘restructuring committee’ in lieu of the ZIFA executive committee would appear to be clearly contrary to the above statutory principles.
As a consequence, should such decisions be considered by FIFA to constitute undue third-party interference in the internal affairs of ZIFA, the appropriate sanctions may have to be imposed on ZIFA by the competent FIFA body.
In such a case, all Zimbabwean football would suffer the consequences, especially on the eve of the AFCON 2021.
