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Ricky Zililo, Senior Sports Reporter
THE suspended Zifa board has written to Fifa notifying the world governing football body that it will “discipline” councillors who called for an extraordinary general meeting set for January 29.

Twenty-seven Zifa congress members, who make up more than a third of the councillors, signed a petition calling for an EGM that might result in revocation of the mandate of the suspended executive committee.

Congress members ignored individual letters written to them by the desperate board demanding that each of them confirm in writing that they appended signatures on a petition calling for the EGM and also laid charges against the suspended Zifa executive.

The fed up councillors had been given a deadline of January 14 to respond to a letter written by suspended chief executive officer Joseph Mamutse.

In its latest communication to Fifa, the suspended board said: “Further to our letter dated 3 January 2022 in which we advised that we shall request Zifa congress delegates who requested for an EGM to confirm whether they voluntarily participated in the petition, on the 3rd of January 2022 we wrote s memo to all delegates and as at 12 January 2022 we were not favoured with any response.

“On the 12th of January 2022 we then wrote individual letters to the 27 delegates (sample letters attached) and gave them up to 14 January 2022 to respond.

Failure by the delegates to respond on the set deadline renders the process a nullity and leaves the executive committee with no option, but to institute disciplinary action against them for bringing the game of football into disrepute.”

However, Martin Kweza, the Zifa Northern Region chairman and spokesperson of the councillors calling for the EGM, said it was regrettable that the suspended committee continues to demonstrate its lack of understanding of the Zifa constitution through threats.

“It is not surprising that we find our football in this position. There is no denying that they are suspended and incapacitated to carry out any business on behalf of Zifa.

This vacuum led to a third of members calling for the EGM in terms of Article 28 (2). Again, there is nowhere in the constitution where it is mandatory to verify the credentials of members calling for the meeting.

In the event there was such a requirement, this would be the preserve of the acting ceo, as the current ceo is equally suspended and cannot render any services on behalf of Zifa,” said Kweza.

“We can never lose any sleep over any deemed disciplinary proceedings being instituted by the suspended Zifa officials.

They have no locus standi to institute any disciplinary proceedings on anyone.

The congress members are fully conversant with the constitution and have acted as such.” — @ZililoR