Zimbabwe may face serious censure today if the Zimbabwe Sports and Recreation Commission does not reinstate the suspended Zifa board led by Felton Kamambo.
Fifa recently ordered the Commission to reinstate the board suspended on November 16 last year, noting that allegations of mismanagement leveled against Kamambo and his colleagues are baseless.
SRC chairperson, Gerald Mlotshwa, was unreachable for comment as he was not responding to calls on his mobile phone.
Zimbabwe may be kicked out of the Africa Cup of Nations finals in Cameroon if Fifa decides to pull the plug on the SRC.
In a statement, the Kamambo-led board said the SRC should be investigated for interfering in local football matters. “The Zifa board believes the Fifa decision did among other things, vindicate the Zifa Executive committee of any wrongdoing contrary to allegations by the SRC in its several publications and given as reasons for them to suspend the board.
“The board therefore reiterates that as was correctly found by FIFA after its intensive engagements and fact finding with both ZIFA and SRC in the past four weeks, no shred of evidence was found or advanced by the SRC to substantiate their numerous allegations which at best are just a witch hunt, persecution and 3rd party interference under the guise of cleansing football.”
The Zifa board said there should be an open inquiry into the conduct, motive and decisions of the SRC board, which it believes is anti-development and has acted against national interests.
“Its actions are tantamount to deliberate sabotage of the sport, persecution of individuals within Zifa by some individuals within SRC, confusion creation and a display of ineptitude in the regulation of sport in our country.
“The Zifa board therefore sincerely calls on our government not to be misled by the SRC board and urges them to help the nation evade these potential but unnecessary and avoidable sanctions on our beloved game which are being invited by the SRC. We call for urgent intervention by the government to stop this SRC sojourn to destruction on premise which under any circumstances cannot be factually, objectively and legally justified.”