ZIFA president Cuthbert Dube will remain in office at least until June 16 after world football governing body Fifa yesterday directed the national association to hold an extraordinary congress by that date following his “dismissal” by a group of councillors last Saturday.
BY SPORTS REPORTER
Dube was shown the door alongside Tawengwa Hara and Fungai Chihuri, but Fifa has declared the outcome of the Saturday meeting “null and void” as provisions of the Zifa constitution were not followed.
John Phiri and Bernard Gwarada had survived the axe.
Fifa’s communication yesterday effectively stopped a planned board meeting which was to be chaired by Omega Sibanda, who had been appointed as acting president by the councillors.
In response to questions on the Saturday developments from NewsDay Sport, Fifa said in an email: “The following statement can be attributed to a Fifa spokesman.
“We have taken note of the different events which led to the current situation in Zifa. According to article 28 of the Constitution, the executive committee of Zifa has to convene an extraordinary congress within three months if one-third of the members ask(s) for it.
“Since the request was made on 16 March 2015, the three-month time lapse has not been completed yet, the deadline being 16 June 2015. In addition, the extraordinary congress should have been convened by the secretary-general and chaired by the president, which was not the case.
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“Therefore, the conditions set in the Zifa constitution have not been met and the alleged extraordinary congress of 17 May 2015 is thus considered null and void. Pursuant to art. 17 par. 3 of the Fifa Statutes, any member’s bodies that have been elected or appointed by the Member shall not be recognised by Fifa.
“Furthermore, art. 17 par. 4 of the Fifa Statutes underlines that decisions passed by bodies that have not been elected or appointed by the member association shall not be recognised by Fifa.”
Fifa then recommended that an extraordinary meeting be held by June 16 to comply with the Zifa constitution.
“However, and given the fact that the Zifa executive committee has to convene an extraordinary general assembly within three month(s), if one-third of its members makes the request, Fifa recommend that Zifa hold the extraordinary congress by 16 June 2015 at the latest in order to comply with the Zifa constitution,” the statement concluded.
With the action taken on Dube on Saturday, it is highly unlikely that he will survive the next meeting. Dube has not responded to his ouster, while Chihuri said he had not received any written communication.
Hara said: “They (councillors) missed a lot of provisions in the constitution. When sacking a board member, it has to be an item on the agenda.”
