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Cuthbert Dube

Sikhumbuzo Moyo Senior Sports Reporter
ZIFA president Cuthbert Dube has undertaken to continue funding the association’s projects despite nearly losing property worth $2 million in a case where he was the association’s guarantor on a bank loan.The decision to fund some of the association’s affiliates, who are also voters in elections to choose a Zifa president, could raise a lot of ethical and corporate governance issues.

Addressing delegates during the association’s extraordinary meeting in the capital on Saturday, Dube, whose board has previously been sharply divided over the running of local football, said he will accord beach soccer and Area Zones all members of the congress grants.

“Despite feeling vindicated by the recent intended removal of his personal property as a result of Zifa’s debts to service providers, the Zifa president vowed to give beach soccer, women football and Area Zones an unspecified amount of quarterly grants from his group of companies,” reads part of the statement released by the association’s public relations department after the Saturday meeting.

As part of austerity measures Dube urged members of the assembly to utilise available resources like the Zifa Village and Conference Centre for accommodation when they convene for meetings as opposed to booking at expensive hotels.

He also took a swipe at unnamed members of the board who, he claimed continued to leak confidential association information to the media thereby fanning disunity in the board. He vowed to crack the whip “if the retrogressive behaviour is not dealt with as a matter of urgency.”

Dube further challenged members of the assembly to embrace the association’s core values which include confidentiality.

“Confidentiality is the hall mark of good corporate governance. The association’s confidentiality was put to test as some confidential correspondence and other documents were leaked to specific media houses.

“Such practice is not only despicable but it is also in violation of Zifa statutes on communication through the media.  I can’t lead a board with individuals bent on power games, gossip and bringing football into disrepute,” Dube told the Zifa website.

In a brief interview, Zifa vice president Omega Sibanda said board members and the rest of the members were fully behind Dube and all agreed to work towards the good of the game.