Rushwaya demanded US$5000 from UK based footie star

By Lance Guma

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LONDON – Former Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) boss Henrietta Rushwaya allegedly demanded a payment of US$5000 from England based football star Tendayi Darikwa if he wanted to represent the Zimbabwe national team.

The 21 year old midfielder is making waves in England with League Two club side Chesterfield FC and has already attracted the interests of English Premiership giants Liverpool and Everton.

On Saturday the state owned Zimbabwe Herald newspaper claimed Darikwa had turned his back on the Warriors opting instead for the chance to play for England where he was born and raised.

But in an exclusive interview with Nehanda Radio, Timothy Darikwa, Tendayi’s father, dismissed the report as untrue and said no one from the paper had spoken to Tendayi or his family.

The report quoted Phillip Zulu, a Zimbabwean football coach who is currently based in Leeds. Zulu alleged that he had tried to convince Darikwa to turn out for the Warriors but without much success.

His dad however had a different version of events, telling us no such discussion took place. “Tendayi is deeply hurt by the reports,” he said.

Darikwa was born in England and has a British passport. Draconian laws prohibiting dual citizenship in Zimbabwe could make it hard for him to represent the Warriors, but the player himself has not snubbed Zimbabwe.

Timothy told us sacked Zimbabwe football association chief Henrietta Rushwaya had told them they needed to pay US$5000 in order for the association to ‘process’ Darikwa for him to play for the national team.

There was no proper explanation of what the money was meant to be used for although Rushwaya claimed it would be refunded once Darikwa had played more than five games for the Zimbabwe national team.

“That’s where we left the matter up until now,” Darikwa senior told Nehanda Radio.

Rushwaya was sacked from ZIFA for her role as the alleged mastermind of the Asiagate scandal where players, coaches and journalists were paid huge bribes to cover up for the fact that the country’s national team, and at times a bogus one, was deliberately losing matches hosted in Asia.

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