Sports / Soccer
Zifa board member, Gift Banda, offers to quit over match fixing scandal
01 Dec 2011 at 05:52hrs | Views
THE match-fixing allegations that have been hovering in the Central Soccer League and have dragged in Zifa board members ' Patrick Hokonya and Gift Banda ' are likely to open up a can of worms in the domestic football.
The two face suspensions from the board if found guilty of playing a part in deciding the fate of many matches in the Zifa Central Region which is headed by Hokonya.
Banda is the Zifa Southern Region boss.
Retired Fifa referee Cosmas Nyoni is accusing the two of ordering him to fix certain matches.
The two, however, deny the allegations.
In his written submission to Zifa, Nyoni claims that suspended Zimbabwe Referees Committee vice-chairperson Samkeliso Silengane told him that "Elders", (Banda and Hokonya) demanded that they fix matches involving Hardbody and Tripple B.
Hardbody last week were docked 42 points which they have since appealed against while these developments have made it impossible for Tripple B to be confirmed winners of the Central Soccer League.
In the latest developments, Nyoni in an interview with Spot FM yesterday evening, said Banda approached him saying that Zifa Southern Region Division One winners, Quelaton, were not supposed to be promoted into the Premier Soccer League as they were a one-man owned team.
Nyoni claims that Banda wanted Railstars to be promoted because they were "company owned and they were going to survive" in the PSL, something that individually driven Quelaton would not do.
Bulawayo businessman Tawanda Ruzive owns Quelaton.
Banda is denying the allegations and said he was willing to step down to allow investigations to continue.
"There is no problem with being investigated. I am prepared to step aside and allow investigations to be done in due process. The allegations levelled against me as a person are very serious and what surprises me in this whole thing is that he (Cosmas) at no time is saying that we met face to face. It is all an issue of hearsay and I don't want my name to be dragged in the mud.
"I believe stepping aside while allowing investigations to continue is the most honourable thing," Banda said.
A committee led by Ndumiso Gumede who was part of a team that did investigations on Asiagate has been assigned to look into the Centralgate, which by his own admission the Zifa vice-president said was worse than the former.
There were some Zifa councillors who wanted the Gumede-led committee to be dissolved.
The two face suspensions from the board if found guilty of playing a part in deciding the fate of many matches in the Zifa Central Region which is headed by Hokonya.
Banda is the Zifa Southern Region boss.
Retired Fifa referee Cosmas Nyoni is accusing the two of ordering him to fix certain matches.
The two, however, deny the allegations.
In his written submission to Zifa, Nyoni claims that suspended Zimbabwe Referees Committee vice-chairperson Samkeliso Silengane told him that "Elders", (Banda and Hokonya) demanded that they fix matches involving Hardbody and Tripple B.
Hardbody last week were docked 42 points which they have since appealed against while these developments have made it impossible for Tripple B to be confirmed winners of the Central Soccer League.
In the latest developments, Nyoni in an interview with Spot FM yesterday evening, said Banda approached him saying that Zifa Southern Region Division One winners, Quelaton, were not supposed to be promoted into the Premier Soccer League as they were a one-man owned team.
Nyoni claims that Banda wanted Railstars to be promoted because they were "company owned and they were going to survive" in the PSL, something that individually driven Quelaton would not do.
Bulawayo businessman Tawanda Ruzive owns Quelaton.
Banda is denying the allegations and said he was willing to step down to allow investigations to continue.
"There is no problem with being investigated. I am prepared to step aside and allow investigations to be done in due process. The allegations levelled against me as a person are very serious and what surprises me in this whole thing is that he (Cosmas) at no time is saying that we met face to face. It is all an issue of hearsay and I don't want my name to be dragged in the mud.
"I believe stepping aside while allowing investigations to continue is the most honourable thing," Banda said.
A committee led by Ndumiso Gumede who was part of a team that did investigations on Asiagate has been assigned to look into the Centralgate, which by his own admission the Zifa vice-president said was worse than the former.
There were some Zifa councillors who wanted the Gumede-led committee to be dissolved.
Source - chronicle
