LAST WEEK we were in a jovial mood as we thought Zifa was moving in the right direction, at least in 2013, by putting in the bin Asiagate and the Warriors’ double failure to qualify for both the 2012 and the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations.
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We thought that after being promised an audited report from the Mzansi90 fundraising campaign for last year’s Angola match, we would finally lay our hands on it so that donors to the project know how their money would be well spent.
Two meetings by the board seemed to point to that direction and the fact that they were working on the budget for this year encouraged us.
But, alas, we are in for another hiding. An envisaged Football Trust has not been put in place and we now hear there is something committee, named Dollar for Football, to try and raise funding for the March 22 World Cup qualifier against Egypt.
There is another committee set up last week to investigate whether Nelson Matongorere voted in the Fifa Ballon D’or or not.
What worries us are the promises that have never been kept that a full audit of the Mzansi90 fundraising initiative would be made public. Zifa board member for finance Elliot Kasu made that promise, but we have not heard from him since the 2-0 loss to Angola.
Now, can we expect the same donor community to pour fresh funds for the Cairo trip when, clearly, the accounting system at Zifa is at loggerheads with what are proper and simple audit systems? We think not.
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Zifa cannot take sponsors for granted anymore if it is to wriggle off the hook of the $4 million debt or it will forever be indebted to its president, Cuthbert Dube. The raft of measures to raise funds, mostly from levies from the Premier Soccer League (PSL), can only be a drop in the ocean compared to the debt.
In any case, the teams in the PSL are so heavily underfunded that milking the little they have will be simply to exacerbate their financial problems. A point in case is Motor Action; they made a loss of over $200 000 last year and where do we expect them to get money even to pay affiliation fess for 2013, let alone raise $100 per player for the 30 they will register this season?
On December 22, 2012, Mines minister Obert Mpofu made it clear that the Warriors would travel to Egypt for the match through support from companies that fall under his ministry.
Zifa vice- president Ndumiso Gumede and Minister of Sport David Coltart are aware of this commitment. We would, therefore, wonder where the issue of the Warriors failing to make the trip is coming from.
This is a clear indication that no one from Zifa has bothered to make a follow-up on that. And perhaps, just perhaps, Coltart has not made contact with his counterpart Mpofu to ensure the trip goes ahead.
These are trying times for football, but when an offer is made from higher offices, we demand swift follow-ups because the Warriors just have to go to Egypt.
