ZIMBABWE football legend and Mamelodi Sundowns team manager, Peter Ndlovu has reacted angrily to allegations suggesting he had been blocking Warriors forward, Khama Billiat from joining camp, saying it is unfair for people to question his loyalty to the national cause.
BY TAWANDA TAFIRENYIKA
The former Warriors captain flew into the country from his base in South Africa, yesterday together with Billiat as he sought to clear the air.
Ndlovu told reporters at a news conference in Harare that his club was genuine when they told Zifa the player was injured and, therefore, could not play a part on Sunday.
The former Warriors skipper said their misunderstanding with Zifa could have emanated from the fact that the association had sent the player’s travel arrangements to Billiat instead of to the club.
“The first thing is, I would like to tell you that Khama is here. People were saying he is not coming. As you know, Khama is injured. I have his medical history with me. I have everything with me. Just to give you a background of the old Zimbabwe set-up with Sundowns, it’s a norm, when a player is called up, we request for travel arrangements so that we know where our player is and how we can arrange and facilitate so that he comes back as quickly as he can. So Zifa did not send the travel arrangements to us, they sent the information to the player. That is the reality and true story. We acknowledged the call-up and said we need the itinerary to go with it. At the same time, we sent them the medical history. Khama has not been training for five weeks at Sundowns,” Ndlovu said.
This follows suggestions by Warriors team manager, Wellington Mupandare that Ndlovu was blocking the star from joining his international teammates in camp.
Billiat had been included in the squad to face Liberia in a 2019 Afcon Group G qualifier at the National Sports Stadium on Sunday, despite carrying an injury.
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Although he was sidelined for his club’s clash against Esperance of Tunisia in the Caf Champions League last weekend, he was hoping to recover in time and play a part on Sunday.
The Warriors medical team had requested the player to come with his medical report so they could assess him for a second opinion.
Ndlovu said it was unfair for people to question his loyalty to Zimbabwe, a country he served with pride and dignity.
“As a Zimbabwean, why would I not want Khama to come and perform for the country? I want to win things. I want him to win things. Why would I shut him? Why would I shut Zimbabwe? For me, I am Zimbabwean, Khama is Zimbabwean and we must represent Zimbabwe and honour that. I personally spoke to the team manager. There was another omission on the ticket sent to Khama. It had no date of return and he had to correct that,” he said.
The Brazilians’ team manager also said he and his coach, Pitso Mosimane had a conversation with Mupandare and Warriors interim coach, Norman Mapeza, which ended acrimoniously after Mupandare allegedly snapped: “Just tell us, is Khama coming or not?”, which the other end did not take lightly.
Despite the misunderstanding, Ndlovu said he did not hold grudges and emphasised that he remained committed to the national cause especially after having given everything to Zimbabwean football.
