Great betrayal… John Phiri turns against Zifa councillors John Phiri
John Phiri

John Phiri

Sikhumbuzo Moyo Senior Sports Reporter
LEGENDARY Warriors player and Zifa board member John Phiri yesterday turned against the councillors who spared him the rod when they booted out Zifa president Cuthbert Dube and two board members after he swore allegiance to Dube.

Dube was booted out together with board members Fungai Chihuri and Tawengwa Hara during a meeting which world football governing board Fifa have since declared null and void.

In a letter addressed to the Zifa president yesterday, Phiri said he was disassociating himself from the outcome of the ‘so called Zifa assembly extraordinary general meeting held on May 16, 2015 in Harare’.

“I never attended the meeting on Saturday, I never accepted appointment into any ‘board’ that is said to have been set up by the assembly at the meeting. I remain loyal to the Zifa board led by Dube, a board which was elected into office in 2014 for a four year term,” said Phiri in his letter.

In a day full of drama, Fifa ordered Zifa to hold an extraordinary meeting that has been called by the councillors on the same day , on June 16, with the annual general meeting which the national football association had set for June 27 and the councillors, sensing danger of having their issues swallowed by the AGM agenda last night wrote to Zifa advising them that they want the EGM to precede the AGM, even on the same day.

“The fear is that the issues which we raised will be diluted and the whole thing swallowed by the main business of the day hence we’ve since written to Zifa and advised that the EGM should be held first,” said the councillors’ spokesperson Sweeny Mushonga soon after their emergency meeting last night.

Mushonga feels the June 16 meeting will not really change anything much, if anything more members might get the courage to endorse the decision to fire Dube.

“We’ve also written to Fifa highlighting our concerns after we received a threatening letter from the Zifa chief executive officer Jonathan Mashingaidze which seemed to border on an imminent purge of councillors that attended the Saturday meeting yet Fifa themselves never said anything along those lines,” said Mushonga.

He said they were shocked by Mashingaidze’s move as their initial decision to hold the EGM was above board.

“The letter shouldn’t be used to intimidate members ahead of the June 16 Indaba. We also agreed in our meeting that Dube can go ahead and attend the upcoming Fifa elective congress next week,” said Mushonga.

The Northern Region secretary general said they feel Dube should just do the honourable thing and step down.

Fifa yesterday refused to comment further on the issue saying they were standing by their resolution that the Saturday meeting was null and void.

“You’ve received in our previous answer the explanation, why Fifa considers the extraordinary congress of 17 May 2015 null and void. Please understand that we can’t make any further comments,” said Fifa through spokesperson Giovanni Marti.

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