Jonathan Mashingaidze
Ricky Zililo Senior Sports Reporter
A plot to bar Zifa councillors from attending Saturday’s crucial extraordinary general meeting in Harare has been exposed with the embattled association’s chief executive officer, Jonathan Mashingaidze, the alleged mastermind.
After failing to get Fifa intervention to stop the meeting, which is expected to seal the fate of the association’s leadership, sources claimed Mashingaidze plans to shut out councillors that haven’t paid their affiliation fees.
Mashingaidze recently wrote to Fifa saying Zifa didn’t have resources to hold the re-convened meeting, but the world governing body informed the association that they would not release any funds until Zifa complied with the requirement to provide an audited financial statement of how the Financial Assistance Programme (FAP) funds were used.
The FAP was established by Fifa in 1999 and is designed to motivate and empower associations and confederations to organise development programmes that meet their needs and strengthen football and its administration in the long term, particularly in the areas of infrastructure, youth football and technical development.
Caf have also thrown their weight behind Saturday’s meeting by sending a representative, who is expected in Harare tomorrow.
There have also been rumours that Zifa president Cuthbert Dube and some board members facing the chop even contemplated cancelling the meeting on the pretext that there is no water and electricity at the Zifa Village, the venue of the potentially explosive meeting.
“They’ve panicked. Dube is getting wrong advice as we were being told that some of the members will be barred from accessing the venue because they’ve not paid their affiliation fees,” said a source.
“They’re failing to account for match day proceeds from the Warriors and Guinea match, yet they want affiliation fees. They also tried using the affiliation strategy in the meeting held in July and failed.”
The affiliation threat is meant to scare away councillors that are fed up with rampant maladministration at Zifa.
Zifa Southern Region chairman Musa Mandaza said they are all paid up and are looking forward to the meeting.
Councillors would also not be disturbed by plots aimed at derailing the meeting.
“What I know is that all the councillors are ready for the meeting that will have a bearing in our soccer. We’re not worried about the plots going on as we’re here to save football. At the end of the day, football should be the winner and it shall be the winner. We will be in Harare on Friday for Saturday’s meeting because we haven’t been told not to come. This meeting will go ahead no matter what,” said Mandaza.
A renowned sports administrator said it doesn’t make sense for Zifa to deny councillors entry to the indaba, which is a mere re-scheduled meeting and not a new one.
“Everyone who attended the July meeting has a right to attend Saturday’s indaba because it is a rescheduled meeting. To say affiliates who haven’t paid must not attend the meeting needs a board resolution and in this case, the board never sat and affiliates do not have communication to that effect. The Zifa leadership need to let the meeting go ahead as scheduled and let the will of the people prevail,” he said.
He said instead of witch-hunting, Dube should blame himself for failing to deal with matters of incompetence after being given 60 days in July to do so.
Dube was expected to dump Mashingaidze, who has been accused of running down the association ahead of the October 3 meeting.
Instead, a massive scandal hit Zifa last month as the association produced a cooked income and expenditure statement from the Warriors’ Afcon qualifier against Guinea.
Zifa spokesman Xolixani Gwesela declined to comment and referred all inquiries to Mashingaidze, whose phone continuously rang unanswered.
“Issues to do with the general assembly are dealt with by the general secretary (Mashingaidze). I’m sorry I can’t help you on that,” said Gwesela.
It emerged that five board members led by Fungai Chihuri paid themselves about $2,800 as board allowances and a further $1,200 as travel and subsistence allowances.
Bulawayo based Zifa board member Tavengwa Hara challenged the finance committee to account for the money as he only received $400 as travel and subsistence allowance.
“Personally, I’m not aware of the $1,200 said to have been given to board members. What I know is that board members shared $2,800. I got $400 for my travel back to Bulawayo and to meet other costs, as I had left my car at the airport. This money was actually brought to my hotel room by John Phiri at 10PM,” Hara said recently.