The Sunday News
SUSPENDED Zifa councillors are expected to bounce back into the football governing body’s structures after they apologised for attending a 16 May meeting that had voted to revoke president Cuthbert Dube’s mandate.
Zifa reportedly asked the councillors to write letters of apology following the intervention of the Sports and Recreation Commission.
The 12 suspended councillors had been given up to last Friday to send in their letters.
Impeccable sources at Zifa confirmed the suspended administrators had submitted their apologies in writing and the Zifa board would be lifting their suspensions.
“The suspensions will most likely be lifted as a way of trying to get people to work together as we patch our differences. The (Zifa) board is likely to meet within a fortnight and lift the suspensions,” said an official at Zifa who declined to be named.
One of the suspended councillors confirmed they had written the letters and were looking forward to getting back into football structures although he admitted the plot to remove Dube from office is now unlikely to succeed.
“People have apologised and although there were some who wanted to be defiant there was a realisation they would be isolated. I do not think our aim to revoke Dube’s mandate will go ahead because most of us are now living in fear of being booted out and the divisions that emerged after the suspensions dealt a blow to a united front that could have done the job,” he said.
Efforts to get a comment from Zifa chief executive officer Jonathan Mashingaidze were fruitless.
The Zifa board suspended 12 councillors along with two board members — vice-president Omega Sibanda and Bernard Gwarada in a meeting on 15 June.
Sources at Zifa said the pardon is unlikely to be extended to the board members.
Full list of the provisionally suspended Zifa councillors
Zifa board: Omega Sibanda (vice-president), Bernard Gwarada (board member). Northern Region: Willard Manyengavana (chairperson), Martin Kweza (vice chairperson), Sweeny Mushonga (board member), Southern Region: Musa Mandaza (chairperson), Tumediso Ndlovu (board Member), Brighton Malandule (board member), Eastern Region: Piraishe Mabhena (chairperson), Davison Muchena (board member), Central Region: Felton Kamambo (chairperson), Patrick Hill (vice chairperson), Matebeleland North: Dennis Tshuma (chairperson), Beach Soccer: Joseph Musariri (chairperson).
