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Eddie Chikamhi Sports Reporter—
CALLISTO PASUWA’s manager Gibson Mahachi wants Zifa to apologise for insinuating that the Warriors coach was corrupt and involved in underhand dealings as the popular gaffer looks to resume his duties with the national team following his weekend reinstatement by the association. Mahachi’s demands come in the wake of comments made by Zifa vice-president Omega Sibanda during a press conference in Harare where he made a raft of allegations against Pasuwa which the manager revealed had hurt the coach and tarnished his reputation.

As he defended the reasons for firing the coach Sibanda claimed that Pasuwa’s player selection was biased towards 16 players he alleged were being managed by Mahachi with the Bulawayo businessman indicating that six of the players were on the verge of being sold to South Africa clubs early next month.

Zifa have, however, since bowed to pressure from all corners including Sport and Recreation Minister Makhosini Hlongwane and at the weekend reinstated Pasuwa and his entire technical team that includes assistants Saul Chaminuka, Nation Dube, Richard Tswatswa and team manager Shariff Mussa.

A marathon meeting between Zifa board member Edzai Kasinauyo, Mahachi and Pasuwa last night also appears to have helped pave the way for the coach’s return to duty ad for the Warriors’ camp which was disbanded last Thursday to resume.

Kasinauyo did not discuss much when he emerged from the meeting but indicated that all matters pertaining to the problems over the Warriors would be finalized by today with a press conference being lined up for this afternoon.

“We have agreed in principle with the coach and his manager. We held a fruitful meeting and tomorrow everything is will be put in motion for the camp to resume and the coach to get back to work. We will have a press conference to announce to everyone the issue of the national coach, the technical department and the national team and before the end of the day we would want the players to start trooping back into camp.

“So the full details of what came out of the meeting will be announced during the press conference but I can say after the meeting we are on the same page with the coach and his manager,’’ Kasinauyo.

It also emerged that the board meeting which had been expected to be held yesterday would now be held today following the return of Zifa president Phillip Chiyangwa and the mother body’s chief executive Jonathan Mashingaidze.

The duo was in Johannesburg for the Cosafa annual meeting on Saturday.

But there is no doubting that the manner in which Zifa handled the Pasuwa issue and abruptly fired the coach has derailed Zimbabwe’s preparations for the African Nations Championships finals in Rwanda and sparked friction not only between the gaffer and the leadership but within the board itself.

Mahachi demanded that Zifa should set the record straight on the reasons for which they had fired the coach and “tell the world the truth’’. “We demand a public apology from Zifa for lying to the nation. They should apologise unconditionally for the distress they caused to the coach. Most of the things he (Sibanda) said were false.

“So the coach is obviously bitter that after all those sacrifices and hard work, sometimes without getting a cent for all his troubles, this is what he gets as thank you. “And they go on to make some very serious allegations that the coach was doing underhand deals in the camp with the manager, which is not true at all.

“They said what they said and fired the coach and now they want to re-engage him again. So he wants to know what has Changed in 48 hours that makes them want to him again, the same coach they fired a few days ago. It shows there was more to it. Those were baseless allegations.

“I think it’s high time we do things professionally in Zimbabwe. Why would people want to use falsehoods to drive their sinister agenda?” said Mahachi.

The Warriors have less than a month to prepare for the Chan finals to be held in Rwanda from January 16 to February 7 where they are in Group D along with Cosafa rivals Zambia, Mali and Uganda. Pasuwa first clashed with Sibanda after he had proposed to sack Mussa and replace him with Wellington Mpandare.

Besides the contentious issue of player allowances and bonuses, they also did not agree with the idea that the coach renounces his relationship with his manager Mahachi whom they claimed was contravening the Fifa Code of Ethics as he also managed players who are in the Warriors set-up.

Mahachi however maintained that he only managed four players in the current squad and these are Dynamos goalkeeper Tatenda Mukuruva, FC Platinum striker Brian Muzondiwa, Knox Mutizwa of Highlanders and midfielder Gerald Takwara also of FC Platinum and argued that the quartet had been chosen on merit.

Mukuruva, Mutizwa and Takwara are also members of the national Under-23 side that qualified for the African Games in Congo Brazzaville in September while Muzondiwa led the line of attack for FC Platinum in the 2015 season.

Mahachi also questioned Sibanda’s interpretation of the Fifa Statutes, amid concerns too that the Zifa vice-president was selectively applying the world body’s regulations.

Interestingly Zifa have been mum about giving Pasuwa a contract, despite Sibanda having served in the same capacity on the previous board and having known that the leadership constantly clashed with the coach over the non-availability of a contract.

“I don’t know how they interpret the Fifa statutes and I am not sure also if Fifa doesn’t really allow a coach to be managed by a manager who also manages players in the team.

“If so why do we have Shakes Mashaba as South Africa coach yet the same manager who handled his affairs also manages some players in the Bafana Bafana set-up?

“Why is there no issue when Jorge Mendes manages the coach of the Portugal team and the bulk of the players in that squad? It only becomes wrong if it’s Mahachi who is involved.

“I understand players are selected on merit and I don’t even manage that number of players they were talking about. I have only four players in the Warriors squad and not 16 as they have alleged in some circles. I can name the four and challenge them to give the names of the other players they are referring to,” said Mahachi.