The Sunday Mail
ZIFA president Cuthbert Dube exploded during last weekend’s assembly meeting, barring the association’s board from speaking to the Press and angrily shooting down a motion to put a lid on the Asiagate match fixing scandal, we have established.
A livid Dube, who could lose some of his properties after using them to secure Zifa loans, used the meeting to lay down the law, warning his board against “stepping out of line”.
The Zifa president, official sources revealed, said he “won’t tolerate working with people of questionable loyalty” and would “dismiss anyone who disobeys the rule of not talking to the Press”.
Dube, who was owed $694 376 by Zifa as at December 31, 2013, also accused some board members of befriending “enemies of football”. Enemies of football is a term the Zifa boss uses to refer to Asiagate suspects.
Dube is reported to have angrily shot down suggestions to put a wrap on the Asiagate match-fixing scandal, which has dragged for over three years with no sign of closure. He allegedly sought to have those fingered in the ugly match-fixing scandal, involving the Warriors and teams from the Middle East, barred from all football activities. “The board members pointed out to him that it would be impossible to bar anyone from football activities without a court order and Dube saw sense in that. However, the suggestion that we close the chapter drew anger . . . he fumed and pointed out that the Asiagate scandal badly affected our football. He insisted that culprits will eventually be brought to book.
“He hinted that he discussed the match-fixing scandal with senior Fifa officials during the World Cup finals in Brazil last month,” said a board member.
Dube’s hard line stance comes amid growing discontent within the board over the way association business has seemingly become a two-man affair.
“It seems all of us have been rendered useless despite being voted into office,” said another disgruntled board member.
“The president and Mash (Zifa chief executive Jonathan Mashingaidze) are running the show and there are so many questions that are crying for answers yet none between the two men is offering any.
“Right now we have board member finance (Bernard Gwarada), who has no idea how many accounts the association has, how much we have in those accounts, how much we get from Fifa and how the offices that Zifa wants to buy were evaluated. A meeting that was supposed to see a frank exchange of views turned into a one man show, Dr Dube dictated what to do and what not to do to us. Omega (Sibanda), the Zifa vice president, tried to bring sanity to the whole thing but he was overwhelmed.”
Away from the gag order and Asiagate fallout, women’s football boss Miriam Sibanda lodged a complaint against Mashingaidze with whom she had a nasty public spat last month.
Sibanda, who appears intent on ignoring the gag order, told the assembly that she finds Mashingaidze’s claims that he was too busy to meet her “suspicious”.
In a thinly veiled statement, the women’s football queen alluded to being “sidelined” as punishment for beating Mavis Gumbo, believed to be a Dube loyalist, at board elections earlier this year.
For his part, Mashingaidze accused Sibanda of being petty, telling Dube: “Mr president it seems this woman has a bone to chew with me . . . this matter looks personal.”
Zifa communications manager Xolisani Gwesela refused to comment on the Zifa assembly deliberations, referring all questions to Mashingaidze.
Efforts to get a comment from Mashingaidze were futile by the time of going to print.
Makomborero Mutimukulu – Acting Sports Editor
