The Sunday News
Ngqwele Dube Sports Correspondent
@rasmthembo
THE National Football Association (Southern Region) executive’s fate is hanging in the balance amid revelations that some teams are reportedly set to demand new elections when they meet on 2 July. The Musa Mandaza-led executive called for the meeting to appraise the clubs on the developments that led to the dissolution of Zifa and the formation of Nafaz on 4 June.
Some clubs are not happy that they were not consulted over the process which led to the dissolution of Zifa saying the defunct body’s constitution was not followed. Mandaza confirmed they would be meeting the clubs on 2 July to officially relay the new changes.
“We do not think it is fair that clubs would keep on hearing it from newspapers and other sources but they should get the official version of events from us as their representatives. There a lot of contradicting stories doing the rounds so we simply want to set the record straight,” said Mandaza.
The meeting will also incorporate teams from Bulawayo Province.
An official from one of the clubs who declined to be identified for fear of victimisation said it was only fair they elect new representatives as it is a “new term of office”.
“From what we are hearing Nafaz gives our (Southern Region) executive a new four-year term of office so it would only be fair that we have elections and select new representatives. The agenda of the (2 July) meeting simply says dissolution of Zifa but we feel they should have added elections since this is a new organisation,” said the official.
Sources within the Southern Region said several names have come up including Benjani Mwaruwari, Methembe Ndlovu, and Lovemore Sibanda of Bulawayo Chiefs, former Zifa board member and Highlanders secretary Andrew Tapela and former Quelaton director, Tawanda Ruzive, among others.
Nafaz president Philip Chiyangwa, who was president of Zifa led the dissolution of the body citing a crippling debt that hovered around $6 million.
