The Sunday Mail
Over 10 000 people could have watched last Sunday’s horror show which saw the Warriors bowing out of contention for a ticket to the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco, for free.Or, which is likely to have been the case, Zifa could have been duped of thousands of dollars at the gates as figures availed by the national soccer governing body show that 40 537 people paid to watch the doomed Afcon qualifier.
Thirty eight thousand nine hundred and ninety one (38 991) fans bought the US$1 tickets, 1 108 purchased the $5 ones while 438 others paid their way into the VIP tribune, according to the football governing body’s income and expenditure statement.
However, conservative estimates put the figure that thronged the National Sports Stadium to witness the devastating 2-all draw with the Taifa Stars at not less than 55 000.
With the costs involved in staging the Afcon qualifier gobbling $102 794, the cash-strapped Zifa suffered a net loss of $49 503 as it realised a total of $53 291 from ticket sales.
Among the major cost drivers were accommodation charges which chewed $32 806, camping and appearance fees which saw Ian “Dibango” Gorowa and his men sharing US$19 470 among them and ground hire at $7 994.
In announcing the figures, Zifa board member finance Ben Gwarada noted that the decision to peg the cheapest ticket at $1 made it difficult for the association to break even.
“The slashing of charges to $1 was meant to entice Zimbabweans to flock in their thousands and support our team. We did not want to think of profiteering, we just wanted to make sure that the nation reconnected with the Warriors. With the connection having been re-established, our plan was to gradually raise the charges to levels that would see us breaking even or making a profit,” he said.
“One of the major highlights, the silver lining from the dark cloud that engulfed our country following the devastating result against Tanzania, is the impressive manner in which Zimbabweans came out to support the team . . . as Zifa we are grateful to the nation for giving us such support.
“Although we bowed out of the Afcon race, our message to the fans is let’s not lose heart at the defeat of the national team but rather continue the outstanding support of attending football matches in large numbers.
“It’s not only Zifa’s responsibility to make sure the national team is successful but the whole country at large and so we truly thank all the supporters who played their part on Sunday and are confident that with all stakeholders playing ball, this will be a very successful tenure.”
Gwarada conceded that “there could have been leakages, but it’s wrong to speculate on that until a time when we can offer concrete evidence as to how this could have happened.
“There is a lot we could have done better . . . for instance, the chaos caused by the selling out of tickets our service provider had supplied for the match could have been avoided.
“In terms of the numbers, yes there appears to have been leakages and we are working on tightening the systems.”
Gwarada, meanwhile, has welcomed the ratification of a seven-member finance committee he had proposed by the Zifa board.
“They are men of honour and have the requisite experience needed in dealing with the massive financial challenges we are facing at Zifa,” he said.
“My humble opinion is that the root of the problem is our economy which is not performing well.
“As long as our economy is in the woods, the ripple effect will not spare Zifa.
“In fact all sporting disciplines in Zimbabwe – rugby, hockey you name it – are in dire need of Government support.
“No association the world over can survive without Government support. Our neighbours Zambia are doing well because their government has taken over all national teams. This thing of putting the whole of Zimbabwe on president Cuthbert Dube’s shoulders is not good, it is not sustainable.”
