The Sunday News
Mehluli Sibanda, Senior Sports Reporter
FORMER Zimbabwe Football Association (Zifa) president, Vincent Pamire feels the decision by the Confederation of African Football (Caf) to bar all the country’s stadia from hosting international matches is not being treated with the seriousness it deserves.
Caf informed Zifa last week that the country’s stadiums have been banned since they did not meet the standards. This effectively means that Zimbabwe have to find an alternative venue for their Africa Cup of Nations qualifier fixture against Algeria to be played at the end of this month.
Pamire is angry that the matter is “not being handled with the seriousness it deserves”, seeing that the country’s legacy is at stake. He stated that if Bulawayo City Council do not have the resources to fix Barbourfields Stadium, then Government and other stakeholders must chip in with funding.
“It’s an issue of national heritage, people must take it seriously, people are not taking this thing seriously, we must wake up, if there is something wrong it must be fixed. This is a national issue, if the city council did not have money Government must chip in,’’ Pamire said.
He could not rule out football politics being at play seeing that some countries could influence decisions in a certain manner.
“There is no fair play in football, we have to protect our rights as a country. It’s a dirty game, people must wake up, if people can’t fix this, they must step aside.”
Pamire, who even phoned Zifa president Felton Kamambo yesterday and urged him to fix the “mess” said it is about time the local football leadership showed how strong they are.
“I am really angry, people must not take this thing lightly. The football leadership has got to show that they are strong, I am sure this thing can be reversed, we want fair play in football. That’s why there is home and away, why are we allowing ourselves to be disadvantaged before we even kick the ball?” asked Pamire.
He went as far as stating that if Zimbabwe are to play outside the country, they would be deprived of home advantage and to the former Zifa boss, it is even better to withdraw from the qualifiers than to be humiliated in such a manner.
Seeing that time is fast running out ahead of the match against Algeria on 29 March, Zimbabweans might as well start looking for transport money to travel to one of the neighbouring countries to watch their own Warriors clash with Desert Foxes home away from home. — @Mdawini_29
