Deposed Castle Lager Premier Soccer League chairperson, Twine Phiri has said the forensic audit on the league’s accounts and deals will not unearth anything amiss.
TAWANDA TAFIRENYIKA
Phiri says he has accepted his fate and is proud to leave the top-flight league in “good state”.
“I am proud to be leaving the league in the state that it is right now,” Phiri said. “I wish, whoever is going to win the elections, well and I will always be there to support that candidate. He should continue from where I left and take the league to another level. As I leave, I am proud of what I did for the Premier Soccer League (PSL),” he said.
Fresh elections for the top-flight have been set for March 5 and Highlanders boss Peter Dube, who is the league’s acting chairman, will battle it out with Dynamos boss, Keni Mubaiwa for the right to succeed Phiri.
Phiri was in his second term as the league’s boss, but Zifa ordered that he could not see it through, as he was no longer a governor at his club, Caps United.
After the mother body booted him out, they announced that they would institute a forensic audit to scrutinise the league’s financial dealings.
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But Phiri is not moved by the latest developments, declaring he was proud of what he had achieved in his time at the helm of the elite league.
He said that he left everything in order.
“When I left, everything was in order and in a league with 16 clubs and a chief executive, I don’t think if there was anything amiss, they could all have failed to detect it. Everything was well when I left and I can only wish the next chairman well. I will always be there to give my support,” Phiri said.
At first, Zifa argued that Phiri could not continue in his capacity since his mandate had been revoked by the councillors together with other executive committee members that included former president Cuthbert Dube.
That meant Phiri would have to seek a fresh mandate to lead the PSL, but he was no longer eligible, according to the PSL constitution, as he lost the club presidency to Harare businessman, Farai Jere, who is now the majority shareholder with a 60% stake.
Phiri was left with a 20% stake, while fellow board member, Nhamo Tutisani, owns the remainder.
Only club presidents or chairpersons can contest for the PSL chairmanship, according to the PSL constitution.
Article 38.1 of the PSL constitution says: “The chairman shall be elected by the congress for a period of four years. His mandate begins after the end of the congress that has elected him. The chairman shall only be re-elected once.”
This meant Phiri — who assumed his position as PSL chair in 2010 before he was re-elected in 2014, when he beat Mubaiwa by 13 votes to two to win a second term in office — was not eligible to seek further re-election.
But Zifa have revealed they will undertake a forensic audit of the PSL to establish the financial status of the top-flight league, including the deals signed by Phiri during his tenure since it will be under a new leadership in March.
Phiri was instrumental in securing the SuperSport broadcast deal, which has seen the league and cup games being screened for the past five years.
But when the deal was sealed in 2011, it triggered debate on whether there was fair financial benefit for clubs.
“Following the end of an era of the PSL leadership under Twine Phiri, Zifa would like to advise the football public that we will institute a forensic audit, which will, among other issues, look at SuperSport deal, vis-a-vis benefits, agents, league’s financial standing, relations with sponsors, development programmes in the last six years and the league’s role in the Zifa debt,” a statement released by Zifa chief executive Jonathan Mashingaidze said.
