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'Cuthbert Dube ouster null and void,' says Fifa

by Sikhumbuzo Moyo
20 May 2015 at 09:12hrs | Views
FIFA have described the Zifa extra-ordinary meeting on Saturday that booted out president Cuthbert Dube as null and void. The international football mother body immediately directed that an extraordinary general meeting be held by June 16 amid fears that the world football motherbody was now playing politics ahead of the milestone May 29 Fifa presidential elections.

Fifa said the meeting, that also claimed the scalps of board members Tawengwa Hara and Fungai Chihuri breached the Zifa constitution.

"Therefore the conditions set in the Zifa constitution have not been met and the alleged extraordinary congress of 17 May 2015 is thus considered null and void. Pursuant to art. 17 par. 3 of the Fifa Statutes, any member's bodies that have been elected or appointed by the Member shall not be recognised by Fifa. Furthermore art. 17 par. 4 of the Fifa Statutes underlines that decisions passed by bodies that have not been elected or appointed by the Member Association shall not be recognised by Fifa.

"However, and given the fact that the Zifa executive committee has to convene an extraordinary general assembly within three months if one third of its members makes the request, Fifa recommend that Zifa hold the extraordinary congress by 16 June 2015 at the latest in order to comply with the Zifa constitution," said a Fifa spokesperson Giovanni Marti in an emailed response to questions from Chronicle Sport yesterday.

However, some councillors yesterday said Fifa were politicking as they feared a lost vote if Dube does not attend the 65th congress and consequently the elections in Zurich.

Dube has already made public his intention of voting for Fifa president Sepp Blatter.

"It's very clear because even if the EGM is held on June 16, we're still going to boot Dube out, make no mistake about that but Blatter would have secured his vote and by then Dube wouldn't be useful anymore to him. The constitution clearly states that the EGM must be held within 90 days not on day number 90 and so why is Fifa setting a date for us," a councillor noted on condition of anonymity.

"According to Article 28 of the (Zifa) Constitution, the executive committee of Zifa has to convene an extraordinary congress within three months if one third of the members asks for it. Since the request was made on 16 March 2015, the three-month time lapse has not been completed yet, the deadline being 16 June 2015. In addition, the extraordinary congress should have been convened by the secretary-general and chaired by the president which was not the case," said Fifa.

It emerged though last night that Fifa were responding to a letter sent by the Zifa chief executive officer Jonathan Mashingaidze which left out vital events leading to the councillors invoking their constitutional right to call for the EGM on their own.


Source - chronicle
More on: #Zifa, #Fifa