The Zifa Southern Region board and its Division One clubs are headed for a showdown with the latter demanding an extra-ordinary meeting on Monday which the administration has refused to sanction.
The clubs, according to sources, are disgruntled over a cocktail of issues that range from affiliation fees, payment of referees and some clubs that were “unprocedurally” drafted into the 2022 league after others had folded, among other things.
“Following the end of the 2019 season, football was not played in 2020 but clubs paid affiliation fees of U$2 000 and they were asked to pay the same for 2021 and only started playing competitively with the Wafa Wafa Tournament later in the year and the league only started this year. There are teams that became part of the league and there was no official communication on how they had been drafted in. There are so many issues, including the payment of referees. Clubs have been paying referees after we were told that we would be cushioned after the COVID-19 pandemic,” the source said.
The source said the concerned clubs have vowed to forge ahead with the Monday meeting inisisting that the Andrew Tapela-led board’s tenure has expired.
The petition, dated December 3 and signed by 14 club represantatives read: “Notice is hereby given that the Southern Region clubs will hold an emergency general meeting on December 19, 2022. The agenda of the meeting shall be as follows: Review of the 2022 season, review and determination on the mandate of the Southern Region board, resolutions on the proposed formation of the First National League, any other business where due notice has been given.”
The petition was signed by representatives of Hwange, Arenel Movers, FC Ratanang, Mosi Rovers, Zimbabwe Saints, Binga Pirates, CIWU, Quality Foods, Makhandeni, Mountain Climbers, Indlovu Iyanyethela, Mainlin, Talen Vision and Ajax Hotspurs.
The petition was a follow-up to two other written pleas sent to Zifa last year and early this year.
But the Zifa interim board has threatened to block the meeting.
- Chawanda attacks Chikwata leadership
- Chaos stalks Zifa
- Zifa appoints TD
- InsideSport: Educating the Zifa normalisation committee
Keep Reading
“In summary, therefore, you have no legal basis to convene the so-called EGM on December 19 2022, because i) Members never made a request for an EGM that would then allow the board to convene one within a period of three months. ii) You have no piece of evidence to support your action except the petition letters which are totally silent and defective in as far as requesting for an EGM is concerned. iii) The impatience and levels of desperation to have this Board removed by all means is indeed shocking,” Zifa wrote.
