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REPORTS from Egypt indicating that the Warriors contemplated abandoning the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations tournament because of non-payment of their appearance fees and bonuses are a serious indictment on the calibre of people entrusted with running the football affairs of this country. 

The Warriors, who face the Democratic Republic of Congo in a crucial match tomorrow which might decide their continued participation at the football jamboree, on Thursday night reportedly threatened to withdraw from the tournament because the Zimbabwe Football Association had not paid their dues.

After a number of meetings between the parties, which dragged into Thursday night, Zifa emerged yesterday to announce that the Warriors were not withdrawing from the tournament. The players wanted to be paid the remaining US$12 500 each by yesterday and had threatened to boycott training last night unless they were paid. They also said they were agreeable to be sent home, as early as yesterday, without playing their final game tomorrow against the DRC.

 Zifa had promised to pay them US$5 500 by yesterday but the players were holding out for the entire outstanding amount of US$12 500. That money included the US$2 500 Zifa said they had secured for each of the players, and the US$3 000 for each of the Warriors, which was promised by the fundraising committee. That would have left the Warriors needing US$5 000 appearance fees, and US$3 000 bonuses for the draw against Uganda, ahead of the match against the DRC. 

However, things deteriorated sharply on Thursday night and the Warriors ended demanding their entire dues by yesterday or they would not train. The players said even though they played the match against Uganda, a chunk of their appearance fees, US$2 500, had not been paid. 

Zifa yesterday quickly moved to douse the flames with head of delegation Farai Jere assuring the nation that the Warriors would fulfill tomorrow’s fixture. While confirming that there were issues over allowances for the players, Jere said there was never a hint of withdrawing from the tournament. “I can confirm that we held a meeting with the players over allowances which the boys are owed. However, $5 000 will be wired today which will take the total amount paid to the players to slightly under $20 000,” he said. 

Jere said the players would fulfill Sunday’s final Group A match against the DRC. “I want to assure the nation that we are going to play our final group game on Sunday and are looking forward to a positive result. These boys are aware of the impact that qualification will have on their footballing careers but we are also cognisant that we don’t have to turn a blind eye to their concerns. The association will always have an ear for issues to do with the welfare of the team, we are a listening association,” he said. 

This is a relief but Zifa must shoulder the blame for the fallout which might have resulted from the Warriors withdrawing from the tournament because clearly their priorities are misplaced. Since the Warriors landed in Egypt, there has been discontent over payment issues with the players threatening not to fulfill their opening tie against Egypt unless they were paid. 

It took the intervention of acting Sport and Recreation Minister Kazembe Kazembe to persuade the players to take to the field and not embarrass the nation at such a prestigious tournament. Clearly there is lack of trust between the players and their employer due to past experiences. While we appreciate that Zifa, like any other African football association, have their own financial challenges, their treatment of the Warriors has been nothing but shambolic. 

They made players sign contracts which stipulated how much each would be paid and instead of honouring those contracts, they have been dilly dallying resulting in the current situation. Given the goodwill generated by the Warriors qualification and their subsequent decent showing at Afcon, it beggars belief that Zifa will allow a situation where the Warriors contemplated withdrawing from the tournament because of their own bungling and misplaced priorities. 

We are in no doubt that the bulk of the Warriors are patriotic Zimbabweans and not mercenaries. Those boys are proud to wear the national colours but have been ill treated by the Zifa hierarchy to an extent that there has been a total breakdown of trust between the two parties. They have been questioning the logic behind sending a large delegation of Zifa councillors to Egypt at Zifa’s expense when the players’ welfare has not been sorted. 

On this one, we agree totally with them. We also wonder whether the football mother body is prepared to drag the nation down with it and get Zimbabwe banned from future Caf tournaments through a withdrawal from the current Afcon. The Sport and Recreation Commission has already given notice to look into the problems at Zifa and we hope that probe will clean the mess at the football association. 

In the meantime, we hope reason prevails and both Zifa and the Warriors players resolve their differences so that the team fulfills tomorrow’s match. All hope is not lost for the Warriors as they can still qualify for the knockout rounds of the tournament with a win against the DRC.