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Sikhumbuzo Moyo, Senior Sports Reporter
IT is not mandatory for world football governing body Fifa to send representatives to the Zifa extraordinary congress set for Harare on Saturday, organisers have said.

The organisers are not raising any panic buttons, saying it’s neither a statutory nor an administrative requirement for Fifa to attend an EGM.

Speaking on behalf of the Zifa delegates that called for the congress, Zifa Northern Region chairman Martin Kweza said they were holding the congress in line with the Zifa constitution, which doesn’t make it mandatory for either Caf or Fifa representatives to be in attendance.

“This congress is being held under the Zifa constitution. We have, however, been in constant communication with both Caf and Fifa and it’s up to them to attend or not. It’s not mandatory though. We are certainly going ahead with the meeting and Fifa are aware of that,” said Kweza.

The congress is likely to result in the revoking of mandates of some suspended Zifa executive committee members’ mandate.

Three executive committee members, Premier Soccer League chairman Farai Jere, Zimbabwe Women’s Soccer League chairperson Barbra Chikosi and Sugar Chagonda have distanced themselves from all spirited efforts, purportedly by the suspended executive, to throw spanners in preparations for the congress.

The executive committee faces charges, which include, among others, misappropriation of Covid-19 football funds, igniting endless and unnecessary fights with the sport regulatory body SRC, failure to manage stakeholder relations and covering up the sexual harassment allegations against a named Zifa executive committee member. All members of the executive committee have been invited to attend the congress to answer to the charges.

Stunned by the move to call for an EGM, some members of the suspended executive committee have been making frantic efforts to ensure there is no quorum for the meeting.

Some councillors have reportedly been victimised for signing the petition, while suspended Zifa chief executive officer Joseph Mamutse recently wrote to Fifa and assembly members seeking verification and authenticity of the petition.

However, his letter was rubbished by the delegates, with Kweza saying Mamutse had no locus standi to issue any demands as he was still on suspension.

“We are certainly not losing sleep over that,” Kweza told Chronicle Sport.