Eddie Chikamhi Harare Bureau
The government has made the first steps towards their efforts to rescue Zimbabwe’s 2018 World Cup qualifying dream after settling the long-standing debt with former national football team coach Jose Claudinei Georgini yesterday. The Brazilian coach, better known as Valinhos, was owed $81,000 by Zifa after winning a labour case over unpaid salaries during his tenure as Warriors coach in 2008.
Zimbabwe paid dearly for the failure by Zifa to service the debt as the Warriors were kicked out of the preliminary rounds of the 2018 World Cup qualifiers by Fifa after the association had ignored several warnings to pay up or risk being expelled.
However, the Minister of Sport and Recreation Makhosini Hlongwane confirmed that the government had cleared the debt through the Sports and Recreation Commission who made an electronic transfer of 73,154 euros (approximately $83, 500) into Valinhos’ account yesterday. The Ministry is now hoping that the clearance of the debt will open the way for the appeal to have the Zimbabwe reinstated into the qualifiers, which kicked off last week.
They have also paid the appeal fees of $1, 500 to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland to have the case heard. Zimbabwe are also appealing against the judgment handed in favour of Belgian coach Tom Saintfeit who was deported on his first day of training after engaging in his duties without a work permit in 2010.
Saintfeit was handed a $150,000 award and the debt is also threatening Zimbabwe’s participation at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. “We have paid Valinhos all his dues today (yesterday). We have done this so that when we approach the Court of Arbitration we don’t do so with dirty hands,” said Hlongwane.
“As the nation is fully aware Valinhos was being owed his dues by Zifa from the short stint he had with the Warriors. He then took his case to Fifa resulting in Zimbabwe being expelled from the preliminary round of the Fifa 2018, Russia World Cup.
“Zimbabwe also appealed the Tom Saintfiet case in which Fifa adjudicated that Zimbabwe pays him an amount of $150, 000, which amount has since increased to about $180,000 as a result of interest. “Our grounds of appeal in Saintfiet’s case are based on the fact that Tom Saintfiet broke the law by working in Zimbabwe without a work permit, which is in violation of the immigration laws, leading to his deportation.
“Zifa did not breach any contract with Tom Saintfiet since the plaintiff didn’t render his service to Zifa as he was deported as a result of breaking the law,” said Hlongwane. A team of government lawyers who are being accompanied by Zifa lawyer Ralph Maganga yesterday lodged the appeal papers with the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland.
Zimbabwe’s appeal against the 2018 World Cup ban, however, appears late since the first round of the qualifiers started last week. Zifa made a huge blunder as they never made an attempt to appeal against the sanction. Hlongwane, however reckoned that Zimbabwe have a strong argument as they are looking to exploit the technicalities in the judgment delivered by Fifa in March this year.
“Our application is in two parts because we are out of time. The first one is to apply for condonation. We must have our application condoned because we are hopelessly out of time. Then we will have the actual appeal,” said Hlongwane. “There are three fundamental points which is the grounds for our appeal. Firstly we have paid Valinhos. Secondly they expelled us from the preliminary round of this tournament and not entirely from the tournament.
“We must understand that the tournament is in two parts which are the preliminary round and the final. So we want reinstatement. There is a technicality that if we are successful then Fifa should find means of accommodating us.
“Thirdly the sentence doesn’t deal with Zifa. In fact it doesn’t punish Zifa at all, it punishes the players and the fans and it’s very suspicious the way the sentence was put across. For the infraction of Zifa, why are you going onto the field of play to punish the player and the fans?”
“This punishment isn’t only unprecedented in the history of football throughout the world but too severe as to induce a sense of shock among the 13 million football adoring Zimbabweans. “Fifa could have used other forms of sanctions available at its disposal. The decision by Fifa was not in the best interests of football,” said Hlongwane.