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Ricky Zililo recently in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa
THE Young Warriors have disputed Zifa’s claims that the beleaguered association paid them a total of $12,000 in allowances after the first leg of the final Caf African Under-23 Championships against South Africa at Rufaro last month.

Soon after the 1-1 draw in the capital, Zifa released an income versus expenditure statement on their official website outlining the revenue grossed and expenses incurred after the game.

Zifa claimed to have paid the Young Warriors $12,000 they termed camping and appearance fees.

However, the national Under-23 players said Zifa misled the nation because they were only reimbursed transport money, which amounted to about $40 per player depending on where one came from and daily allowances totalling $150 per individual.

The players alleged that they were never paid $150 per person in appearance fees as promised in the six Africa Games and Caf African Under-23 Championships campaigns.

“It’s a blatant lie that we were paid all our appearance and daily allowances after the South Africa game in Harare. Zifa owe us a substantial amount of money. We were shocked to read in the newspapers that the team shared $12,000 translating to $480 each for a squad of 25, including the technical staff. They must tell the truth and stop inflating figures because as it is, we’ve lost count of how much they owe us,” said a source within the Young Warriors’ setup.

Another source revealed that for the second leg in South Africa where the Young Warriors were flattened 3-0, each member of the travelling squad was given $100 as a “keep going allowance”.

The players had horrible preparations for the Amaglug-glug return fixture as they had to buy their own food while in camp.

They were also locked out of their lodge after the owners demanded that Zifa pays them following publication of the statement claiming $12,530 had been paid for the team’s accommodation.

“From what we heard, the lodge owners weren’t happy that Zifa were claiming to have paid for our stay before the first leg when they never did. Because of frustrating preparations for the return leg, we even contemplated walking out of camp, but we were promised that our concerns would be addressed soon. They even gave us $100 each, which they called a ‘keep going’ allowance because they couldn’t classify it under the daily allowances bracket or appearance fees. Since we were out of the country for four days, they’re supposed to pay us $50 each per day,” the source said.

In their response to the players’ allegations, Zifa acknowledged owing the Young Warriors and defended the income versus expenditure statement from the game against South Africa in Harare.

“Yes we owe them and one has to understand that the statement was about all the expenses we incurred, some of which weren’t paid. That’s why there is a shortfall because some were partly paid, but unfortunately the breakdown of the shortfall wasn’t included,” said Zifa spokesman Xolisani Gwesela.

Zifa grossed $35,609 from 10,675 tickets bought for match in Harare last month.

In their income and expenditure statement for the day, Zifa claimed they had an expenditure of $62,888 and were therefore left with a loss of $27,279.

Zifa said they paid $12,530 for the Young Warriors’ weeklong camp and $9,155 for the South Africa trip.

The financially troubled Zifa gave an impression that they had cleared players’ and the technical team’s camping and appearance fees by paying out $12,000, which the Young Warriors are disputing.

Other costs noted in Zifa’s income and expenditure account include $5,341 for ground rentals, $2,241 for stadium security and $800 for police escort.

Fees for match officials, from Zambia cost $3,800, airfares $2,163, while accommodation was $2,141. Zifa also paid $300 for referees’ car hire.

The Sports and Recreation Commission took their mandatory six percent levy, which was $2,136, Caf got $1,780 and Fifa $712.