ZIFA Congress Fires Kamambo
The ZIFA Congress voted overwhelmingly to revoke suspended president Felton Kamambo’s mandate at an Extraordinary General Meeting held this Saturday.
Forty-three out of forty-five councillors voted to revoke Kamambo’s mandate including that of board member (finance) Philemon Machana and board member (development) Brighton Malandule.
Kamambo, Machana and Malandule were absent, while the only suspended executive members that attended the meeting were Sugar Chagonda, Babra Chikosi and Farai Jere.
Former ZIFA vice president and Bulawayo based businessman Gift Banda has been voted acting ZIFA president.
Banda was suspended by his ZIFA executive committee colleagues after a board meeting on 16 January 2019 exactly a month after winning the ZIFA vice presidency.
He was accused of reshuffling the senior national team’s technical staff unilaterally without engaging the executive.
Banda had removed then assistant coaches Rahman Gumbo and Lloyd Mutasa, replacing them with Tonderayi Ndiraya and Bongani Mafu respectively.
The decision to revoke the mandate of the ZIFA board will not likely change FIFA’s stance on the country’s football matters.
FIFA imposed a ban on Zimbabwe after the SRC suspended the ZIFA board and the only way the sanction will be lifted is the reinstatement of Kamambo and his board.
A letter sent by FIFA to local football authorities on Friday, a day before the holding of the Extraordinary General Meeting, read:
We refer to the aforementioned EGM notice. As discussed in the past weeks, it is important that in the context of the aforementioned EGM, the ZIFA members and delegates understand fully the decision of the FIFA Council taken on 24 February 2022 (as attached hereto).
Especially, they shall be reminded of the cumulative conditions imposed by FIFA Council in order for the ZIFA suspension to be lifted, including confirmation to FIFA that ZIFA and its management led by President Kamambo and GS Mamutse is back under their full and unconditional control.
We trust this is of help and wish you a nice day.
