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Warriors team

THE Zimbabwe senior national football team must banish the ghost of the latest match-fixing scandal to hit the local shores and focus on the task at hand when they face Swaziland in back to back Africa cup of nations’ qualifier matches on Good Friday and Easter Monday.

A number of players in the current national team have been named in the unraveling scandal – christened Limpopogate – which has sucked their counterparts in the Absa Premiership in South Africa. Goalkeepers George Chigova and Washington Arubi, defender Partson Jaure, assistant coach Nation Dube, former Warriors coach Ian Gorowa, ex-Zifa Chief Executive Officer Henrietta Rushwaya and suspended Zifa board member Edzai Kasinauyo have been fingered in a plot to fix the matches against Swaziland.

Head coach Kallisto Pasuwa and goalkeeper Tatenda Mukuruva blew the whistle on the scam after they were approached by the syndicate which has links to Asian betting kingpins. Zifa and Safa are seized with the matter with the two associations cooperating to get to the bottom of the issue which is threatening to blight the integrity of the game in the two countries.

We are glad that the football authorities managed to blow the lid on the match-fixing shenanigans of the cartel before it corrupted our players and call on them to expedite the investigations so that the scourge is nipped in the bud. It appears Asian betting syndicates have infiltrated the game in Africa and are using the paucity of resources in continental leagues to corrupt its officials and players.

Last week, former Safa CEO Leslie Sedibe was banned from all football-related activities for five years by Fifa and fined 20 000 Swiss francs for his role in fixing matches prior to the 2010 World Cup.

Fifa also imposed a six year ban on Ace Kika while Steve Goddard and former head of referees Adeel Carelse were banned for two years.

In October‚ Fifa’s ethics committee recommended action against Kika for his role in corrupt activities related to Bafana Bafana matches in 2010.

Kika was the first South African to be charged in a long-running saga after it emerged that friendly matches Bafana played on the eve of the 2010 World Cup were fixed by convicted Singaporean match-fixer Wilson Raj Perumal.

Sedibe‚ who headed the organisation during the matches under investigation‚ and erstwhile head of referees Goddard‚ were also named in the Fifa report. The latest scandal, in which Rushwaya played a prominent role alongside an Italian kingpin, targeted matches in the Absa Premiership with Zimbabwean players plying their trade there and some South African players being lured by the prospect of earning huge amounts of money to throw matches. The syndicate had also targeted the Zimbabwe-Swaziland matches and it appears Zifa got wind of the impending scandal just in the nick of time.

With a number of senior players implicated in the match-fixing scam, it is crucial that authorities ensure that they are not distracted by the ongoing investigations. Players like Arubi, who are alleged to have pocketed substantial amounts in ‘commitment fees’ during their contract with members of the syndicate, need to be in the right frame of mind to apply themselves fully during the crucial qualifiers this weekend.

The Warriors set up has a mammoth task to prepare the team both physically and mentally for the games which have a huge bearing on Zimbabwe’s chances of qualifying for the finals to be held in Gabon. Apart from the usual pressure which comes with playing in these high profile matches, the players will have the added intense scrutiny from fans who will be eager to latch onto any mistakes to allege underhand activity.

Howlers like the one Arubi committed when he gifted Guinea with a goal when the Warriors played the West Africans at Rufaro Stadium in September last year will not easily be forgiven by a suspicious crowd. The team needs to quickly forget about the match-fixing scandal and put up a top drawer performance to placate restive fans.

Zimbabwean football is still reeling from the Asiagate scandal and the game is in dire need of rejuvenation and the Warriors can go a long way towards achieving that goal by beating log leaders Swaziland home and away.

The Warriors and Sihlangu are tied on four points atop Group L, which also includes Guinea and Malawi. Two wins over Easter will see them open a healthy lead at the top and silencing their critics. We also call on Zifa to ensure that logistical issues are sorted out quickly so that the team is fully focused on matters on the field of play.

Shambolic preparations and poor incentives open the team to manipulation by match-fixers always keen to dangle lucrative carrots to players.