CASH-STRAPPED Monomotapa, the Mbada Diamonds Cup losing finalists, will only participate in the Caf Confederation Cup football tournament if they are availed a $150 000 subsidy by the tournament sponsors.
BY HENRY MHARA SPORTS REPORTER
The deadline for the registration of teams was November 30 and Zifa forwarded only Dynamos for the Champions League after both Highlanders and Chicken Inn pulled out.
The money, which is a subsidy to cater for travel and accommodation costs in the African safari, last year went to Mbada Diamonds Cup runners-up Motor Action and Monoz were hoping for a similar set-up.
However, Mbada Diamonds after amending the tournament rules this year have said the subsidy will go to the tournament winners Dynamos.
“We were of the impression that Mbada Diamonds will give us the money like what they did with Motor Action last year. We were really surprised to note that the money will go to Dynamos this time around,” said Monomotapa chairman Joseph Mukoki.
He added: “We have already written to Zifa and copied our letter to the Premier Soccer League so that they do not enter us into the Confederation Cup unless we get an assurance from Mbada Diamonds that they will give us the money. As it stands now, we are out.”
Zimbabwe has four slots in the Caf inter-club competitions – two in the Caf Champions League and the other two in the Caf Confederation Cup.
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The initial deadline for registration with Caf was last Friday and only league champions Dynamos had confirmed their Caf Champions League participation status.
Monoz lost to Dynamos 2-0 in the final of the country’s biggest cup competition, a feat that guarantees them a slot in the Caf Confederation Cup.
The other slot in the continent’s second-tier competition was supposed to be taken up by Chicken Inn, but the Bulawayo side chickened out citing lack of international exposure and inexperience.
League runners-up Highlanders, who were supposed to take one of the Caf Champions League spots, have also excused themselves, leaving Dynamos as the sole participant from Zimbabwe.
Monoz, who received $60 000 for finishing second in the Mbada Diamonds Cup, are still hopeful though that they will get the $150 000 subsidy. Their hopes are pinned on the highly likelihood that Dynamos would turn down the Mbada Diamonds sponsorship due to contractual complications with their principal sponsor BancABC.
Mbada Diamonds demands that a team that takes up the subsidy shall wear a kit bearing the name of their company. According to their regulations booklet, the kit shall comprise warm up T-shirts, jerseys, tracksuits, training bibs, travelling bags and blazers. The biggest problem for Dynamos is because they have a contract with BancABC which also demands that they wear a kit supplied by the financial institution and have already asked the champions to draw up their 2013 Africa budget. Both sponsors had their logos imprinted on the front part of the Dynamos kit during the course of this year’ Mbada Diamonds Cup tournament, but it’s highly unlikely that BancABC will compromise on this one. Mbada, after compromising for the final, are likely to demand more space on the front of the jersey. With the first deadline having elapsed, it looks like Zifa and Monoz are running out of time as the Caf Confederation Cup draw is set for next week. Caf, in their correspondence last week, asked Zifa to submit two lists with one including Highlanders and the other excluding the Bulawayo giants. Caf’s Khaled Nassar of the Competitions Division wrote to Zifa: “We acknowledge receipt of your letter dated November 26 to engage Highlanders FC in the Caf inter-club competitions. “However, we would like to inform you that this request will be submitted to the Bureau of Interclub Competitions on December 09, 2012. Meanwhile, in order to preserve your right to engage your teams before November 30, 2012, we kindly request you to send us the following before the deadline: 1-4 teams in case of approval of the Caf Organising Committee to engage Highlanders FC; 2-4 teams in case of rejection of the Caf Organising Committee to engage Highlanders FC.”
