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Xolisani Gwesela

Ngqwele Dube, Sports Correspondent
ZIFA has urged organisers of the Royal Cup match set to feature Highlanders and Manzini Wanderers of Swaziland to put their house in order by meeting laid down conditions for the event to go ahead.

Zifa communications manager Xolisani Gwesela said with less than a week before the date (March 19) set by the organisers arrives, approval had yet to be granted.

“We do not want to be seen stopping a football match taking place, but there are conditions that have to be met and we sent them to the organisers, but they are yet to come back to us. We urged them to comply with the requirements we gave them before announcing dates because the Swaziland team will not be allowed to come in without clearance,” said Gwesela.

The Royal Cup Trust, the organisation behind the proposed match, revealed that the game had been earmarked for Sunday.

Royal Cup trust chief executive officer Nkosilathi Ndiweni on Saturday said they were “working round the clock to meet the demands of the two teams as well as seeking permission from the authorities for the match to go ahead”.

Gwesela said they would not stand in the way of the match if all conditions are met, adding that they want to avoid problems encountered in the past which resulted in last minute cancellation of matches and organisers failing to honour their financial obligations.

Some of the conditions set by Zifa include submitting contracts with teams and handing over the total sponsorship amount to Zifa, total amount to be used in the tourney, detailed budget and inclusion of members of the Zifa competitions committee, communications manager and accountant.

Zifa also wants the full sponsorship funds to be deposited into the Zifa Trust account and be accessed to meet specific disbursement according to the budget drawn. Zifa also wants to be responsible for the receipting and disbursement of the gate takings in line with the agreed criteria as well as paying the prize money to the participating teams.

Highlanders’ secretary-general Emmett Ndlovu said the organisers of the cup had until today to make a final decision.

The club is demanding a deposit payment as assurance.