SRC flagged offside

FORMER Zifa president Vincent Pamire has flagged the Sports and Recreation Commission (SRC) offside over the lifting of a ban on some of the Zifa board members before the forensic audit on the country's supreme football body has been completed.

The SRC released a statement on Wednesday announcing the lifting of a ban on Farai Jere, Barbra Chikosi and Sugar Chagonda while keeping the door closed on Felton Kamambo, Philemon Machana and Bryton Malandule.

This follows an emergency general meeting held by the Zifa congress on April 23 which dismissed Kamambo, Machana and Malandule while restoring Gift Banda to the board and elevating him to the post of interim president.

Banda had been kicked out by his colleagues.

The SRC established a Zifa restructuring committee in November last year and announced this week that a forensic audit was being conducted.

Fifa suspended Zifa in February over government interference and demanded the reinstatement of the Kamambo-led board but the SRC remained adamant, leading to Zimbabwe losing out on their spot in the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifiers.

However, Pamire yesterday said without the recommendations of the Zifa restructuring committee and the results of the forensic audit, SRC's pronouncements were an exercise in futility.

"As football lovers we take note of what the commission (Sports and Recreation Commission) has said but there are critical areas that need to be addressed. Football in Zimbabwe is dirty and rotten and everyone knows that is the reason we are in the situation that we are in. SRC established a restructuring committee which has not finished its mandate. It is very important to hear what that committee will recommend," Pamire said.

The former Zifa president added: "A forensic audit is already in place at the SRC's behest and we do not know what the results of that audit will be. Assuming that the audit reveals that all the board members are not clean, what do we do? We will go back to stage one. What SRC is doing now is just looking for a breathing space to come up with a football situation. The truth is that football must start from the bottom to the top so that all those structures elect a proper executive committee to run football."

Former Highlanders Football Club lawyer Matshobana Ncube said the SRC would not win a war against Fifa.

"What I can say is that world football is run by Fifa, if SRC and Fifa are at cross purposes, Fifa prevails. So SRC is in the wrong," Ncube said.

Another lawyer, who requested anonymity, said: "That statement by the SRC was poorly written. SRC should have just reinstated the Zifa board and acknowledged the outcome of the EGM. That statement shows that they used the EGM to come up with their decisions but all now depends on Fifa accepting or recognising the EGM."

In its statement on Wednesday, the SRC said: "The SRC board committee on Zifa restructuring is at a point where certain of its recommendations require to be placed before Zifa formally. The lifting of the Zifa suspension will aid in this important process, particularly in regard to implementation of key reforms. BDO Chartered Accountants have commenced in their forensic audit into the financial and operational affairs of Zifa."

While Fifa have made it clear that only communication from Kamambo saying that he is back in charge at Zifa will get the ban on Zimbabwe lifted, SRC is hoping that the world governing body will accept the resolutions made at the EGM.