Harare Bureau
GOVERNMENT yesterday indicated that it will craft legislation against doping and match-fixing, making such offences punishable by law in this country.
Currently, offenders can walk free because there are no laws against doping and match-fixing in this country.
But yesterday the Sports and Recreation Ministry said they will craft legislation to fight the vices and make them punishable by law.
“Following the Sport and Recreation Commission inquiry into the state of football in Zimbabwe, Government has noted with great concern, the lack of accountability, non-compliance and lack of good governance characterising the football architecture in Zimbabwe,” the Ministry said in a statement.
“The cancer of corruption traverses all sections of the football fraternity thereby crippling the optimal development of football in Zimbabwe.
“It is, therefore, Government’s intention to deal with the cancer of corruption in football and other sport codes, by including but not limited to, the introduction of legislation on match-fixing as well as doping.
“Ministry of Sport and Recreation envisages an environment where match-fixing, doping as well as other malpractices should be punishable by law in-order to ensure the integrity of the Sport Movement in Zimbabwe.
“Government takes very seriously the integrity and credibility of sport and calls for the Sport Movement to play its part in ensuring the restoration of ethical behavior and values so as to guarantee fair play across all sporting disciplines,” read the statement.
Over the last few years four players were banned for doping in both football and rugby Shane Joubert – then 20 years old – receiving a six year ban after he was found on the wrong side of the World Rugby anti-doping regulations.
Joubert was part of the Zimbabwe Under-20 side that finished seventh at the Junior World Rugby Trophy tournament in the United States three years ago.
Dylan Coetzee and Simbarashe Chirara were also involved.
Zimbabwe international footballer Devon Chafa was in 2013 banned for six months after failing a doping test following a World Cup qualifier against Egypt in June of the same year.
Football was also rocked by the Asiagate match-fixing scandal with ZIFA punishing a number of players and officials but the sanctions were not endorsed by FIFA who felt that the process leading to the punishments was flawed.
ZIFA have since pardoned or cleared virtually all those who were implicated in the scandal.