ZIMBABWE have withdrawn from the Council of East and Central African Football Associations (Cecafa) Senior Challenge Cup, which starts on Sunday in Kenya, with Zifa citing security issues in the host nation as the reason for the withdrawal. However, sources yesterday said the financially-beleaguered association had failed to raise money for airfares for the team to travel to the East African nation.
BY HENRY MHARA
Zimbabwe were invited to take part as a guest nation at the tournament, and the organisers had asked Zifa to cover air travel costs for the team, while the organisers would pay for full board accommodation and local transport for the Warriors delegation.
Zifa accepted the invite in October, and even went on to name a 28-man squad for the tournament last week, which was expected to group in Harare yesterday before leaving for Nairobi tomorrow.
But in a dramatic turn of events yesterday, Zifa announced in a statement that they had decided against sending the senior national team as they fear for the team’s safety.
“Following wide-ranging consultations with all stakeholders, the Zimbabwe Football Association has resolved to withdraw its commitment to participate in the 2017 Cecafa Challenge Cup due to the security risk posed by the volatile situation in the host country, Kenya. As a result, Zifa has immediately suspended all preparations related to the commitment made earlier to participate as a guest nation at this year’s Cecafa tournament.
“Zifa reiterates its commitment to fulfil all future tournaments and matches provided the environment does not in any way risk the safety of participating teams. The withdrawal from such a prestigious tournament is unfortunate for us, the team, the nation and the tournament organisers, but the association had to make the complex decision in the best interest of all involved. Zifa remains committed to its mandate of organising competitive matches for all national teams, at the same time ensuring the safety of everyone participating.
“Zifa is open to future similar engagements with Cecafa and other regional bodies because such tournaments afford national teams invaluable competitive game time. Zifa unreservedly apologises to the tournament organisers, sponsors, the team, supporters and other stakeholders for all inconveniences caused by this sudden development. Zifa wishes Cecafa the best in this year’s edition and future tournaments,” read the Zifa statement.
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A source at the association, though, said the real reason for the withdrawal was because of the unavailability of funds. “There had to be a convenient reason to withdraw, but the real reason is that there are no funds for air tickets and appearance fees for the team. They knew all along about the situation in Kenya, and in any case it is no longer volatile. The association’s bank account is in the red, they have not even paid appearance fees for the players who participated in the last two friendly matches in Lesotho and Namibia,” the source said.
The source added that Zifa were also struggling to get resources for the Young Warriors to prepare for the Cosafa Under-20 Championships set for Zambia next month.
The squad was announced last month, but is training in two batches, with coach Bekithemba Ndlovu taking care of the players in Bulawayo, while his assistants Mark Mathe and Mike Madzivanyika are working with those based in Harare.
Asked if the claims that Zifa had withdrawn from Cecafa due to financial constraints and that they had not paid the Warriors from their last two assignments were true, the football governing body’s spokesperson, Xolisani Gwesela responded: “I thought we made everything clear in the Press statement we issued. For confidential purposes, we don’t disclose our contracts with players. How we pay our players, is between us and them and governed by contractual obligations. How and when we pay them is none of your business. What I can rest assure you is that we don’t owe anyone a cent.”
The Warriors had been drawn in the same group as Uganda, Burundi, Ethiopia and South Sudan at Cecafa and the last-minute withdrawal will give the organisers a huge headache.
