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Innocent Kurira, Sports Reporter
FORMER Zifa vice-president Ndumiso Gumede believes the national association and the Sports and Recreation Commission (SRC) should have found each other before getting to the situation where the country faces an imminent ban from international football.

World football governing body Fifa has given the SRC a January 3 deadline to reverse its decision to suspend the entire Zifa executive committee or face the consequences of a ban from all forms of international football.

The SRC slapped the Zifa board with an indefinite suspension on November 16, charging them with a number of allegations that include sexual harassment of female referees.

In a letter to Zifa’s suspended chief executive officer Joseph Mamutse on Tuesday, Fifa said it was committed to investigating all allegations raised by the SRC, but the Zifa board has to be reinstated without fail.

Fifa strongly disapproves of third party interference in the affairs of member associations and has banned several other countries from all forms of international football for violating this statute.

Gumede feels the issue should never have been allowed to reach the point of ultimatums.

“The world football controlling body has absolute power. Whatever they decide will eventually happen. I know that we as locals have had our misgivings about the administration of our football and I have been in football for a long time. We have situations like the Gift Banda one whereby a man can be suspended for the entire three or four years, which is seriously wrong,” said Gumede.
He said the nation or football authorities need to introspect and find out where they went wrong.
Gumede said it is a pity that the situation has got to a situation where there is now a threat of losing  qualification for the Africa Cup of Nations.
“I don’t think we should have let this thing get to the situation where we are now.

Moreso I really miss my old friend Ashford Mamelodi because I’m sure if we were still in touch, football development in the Cosafa bloc would have been dealt with and resolved without getting to the situation we are now in,” he said.

Gumede however said the way forward is now with football authorities.

“If the SRC wants to dig in and Fifa wants to ban us, then that’s going to happen because there’s nothing we can do as the former players or administrators to influence the outcome,” he said.

The SRC has been adamant that the Zifa board members’ suspensions would not be lifted under whatever circumstances and it was, in fact, prepared for any Fifa sanction.

It went on to appoint a committee to restructure Zifa to ensure it’s run along good governance and delivers on its football mandate. — @innocentskizoe