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Bukhosi Mangena Sports Correspondent
THE Zimbabwe Women Soccer League teams have engaged Zifa president Philip Chiyangwa to appeal against the institution’s stance to hold elections to select a new executive.

The teams, who are playing under the Zimbabwe Women’s Football, a Zifa affiliate, are keen to lodge an appeal opposing the unceremonious suspension of the Miriam Sibanda led executive and are contemplating disbanding their league if Zifa does not consider their grievances which they say had a sound and relevant constitutional backing.

The teams’ spokesperson Wilbert Rambanepasi said as a league they were prepared to play social soccer rather than be an affiliate member of an association which failed even to follow its own constitution.

“As teams who are directly affected by this Zifa order, we have since written a letter to the president, Chiyangwa. How can they impose a leadership on us because as team we were never engaged when they disbanded our executive.

“If they fail to address us and go on with the elections we will rather play social soccer than be an affiliate. The Zifa secretariat must keep their hands off women’s soccer because they are clueless when it comes to running it,” he said.

However, Zifa through their electoral commission are adamant that the elections are on.

Nominations for the March polls open on Monday with chief executive officer Jonathan Mashingaidze advising the Zimbabwe Women’s Football that nominations are going to close on February 1, a development which Rambanepasi says is driven by sinister motives.

“We know that they will do anything to go on with the poll but we will not recognise the new executive. We played soccer the whole of last season thinking that it is the girl child who was benefiting only to be surprised that someone somewhere was still bitter about losing an election up to the point of plotting Sibanda’s downfall,” he said.