And that Fifa have banned Zifa from all football activities
with immediate effect, does not appear to deter the Gerald Mlotshwa-led SRC’s
battle to rid local football of Felton Kamambo and his board.
Fifa cited the violation of its Statutes, particularly
Article 14 (Paragraph 1i) and Article 16 (Paragraph 1) after the Sports and
Recreation Commission (SRC) suspended the Zifa executive committee late last
year.
Fifa secretary-general Fatma Samoura said the suspension
will remain in force until the Kamambo-led board is allowed to return to office
without any conditions and that the SRC should immediately repeal a number of
decisions it had taken against Zifa and its officials.
However, Mlotshwa remains adamant in the face of the
suspension, arguing that the SRC was acting in the interest of local football.
The SRC supremo says the sports regulatory body was not moved by the suspension
and will not act in accordance with the demands of the world governing body.
FIFA has banned Zimbabwean football from all international
competitions for government interference in the running of the game after the
SRC suspended the Zifa administration for several violations, chief among them
failure to account for public funds.
Having threatened to sanction Zimbabwean football since
December last year, Fifa finally did so and ordered that Kamambo and company be
reinstated for the ban to be lifted a scenario Mlotshwa insists that will not
happen.
The SRC statement reads: “Correspondence from FIFA, dated
the 24th instant, addressed to the suspended ZIFA General Secretary purporting
to suspend the Country’s national football association as a member of the FIFA
‘family’ is noted. In essence, it appears that FIFA is constrained by the
provisions of its own statutes to protect certain of the undoubted sexual
predators, fraudsters and corrupt administrators at the helm of football
administration in Zimbabwe.
All this in the name of shielding ZIFA from, to quote FIFA
in its letter “… undue interference from a third party”. It is a fact that some
of these administrators are facing, inter alia, charges of sexual harassment,
bribery, fraud and general corruption before Zimbabwe’s Courts. FIFA has the
full details of these matters.”
“The instances of fraud and corruption within the corridors
of ZIFA have also been brought to the attention of FIFA, who have placed on
record their extreme reluctance to involve themselves in remedying this
deplorable state of affairs,” the statemen continues.
“FIFA statutes are not a part of the laws of Zimbabwe.
Conversely, ZIFA, and indeed all other national sports associations in the
country, are subject to the laws of Zimbabwe. It is for this reason that they,
and their respective constitutions, are registered with the SRC. FIFA
recognizes ZIFA as the sole governing body for football administration in
Zimbabwe by virtue of its registration with the SRC. It is on this basis that
it is admitted as a member of the “FIFA Family” by FIFA. Sunday Mail
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