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Ricky Zililo, Senior Sports Reporter

ZIFA has been sleeping on duty, following revelations by the Sports and Recreation Commission (SRC) that the national football mother body is yet to submit an application for the restart of activities.

The supreme sports body said following the country’s plunge into the Covid-19 Level 4 lockdown last month which led to suspension of sporting activities, they communicated to national sports associations that had been cleared last year to re-apply for a waiver in the wake of the tightened lockdown.

Speaking on Classic 263’s Morning Grill show on Tuesday, SRC acting director-general Sebastian Garikai said the ball is in Zifa’s court in as far as football resumption is concerned.

“The resumption of any sporting activities in this country is guided by the prevailing Covid-19 regulations and policies enacted to mitigate the adverse effects of the pandemic. We’re in a pandemic, but obviously the sector has to survive during this pandemic. After the Level 4 lockdown,

sporting associations that had applied for resumption of their activities and applications approved last year, were then asked to re-apply for activities to continue. As SRC, we sent communication to all national sports associations to re-apply on the 3rd of January and some have been considered.  We’re moving step by step,” said Garikai.

“Zimbabwe Football Association had applied for the safe and gradual resumption of football last year and their application was approaved with set conditions, among them the bubble concept and standard operations. But we then didn’t see any traction coming out as by the time the year ended, we had not seen any football being played in the country. At the moment we are waiting for their (Zifa) re-application, which hasn’t come since we sent information to national sports associations last month.

“We’re having this conversation which is nice so that the whole country knows, but we should be having this conversation holding a proposal from Zifa, but as we talk right now, we haven’t received anything.”

He encouraged Zifa to follow the right channels as other sports bodies and re-apply, adding that applications sent for the Warriors’ next month Afcon qualifiers have been approved.

Zifa, which was represented on radio show by board member Phillimon Machana, maintained that it had re-applied and will resend its application to the SRC for the sale of progress. – @ZililoR