Zimbabwe Warriors in bonus row

By Petros Kausiyo

Cash-strapped Zifa were last night making frantic efforts to raise money to pay the Warriors their outstanding bonuses and avert a crisis ahead of Zimbabwe’s African Nations Championships qualifier against Mauritius at Rufaro tomorrow.

The Warriors, host Club M in a CHAN first round, second leg qualifier in a game they are largely tipped to win and secure a passage to the second and final qualifying round of the tournament that will be staged in South Africa next January.

Ian Gorowa’s men are carrying a healthy 3-0 lead achieved on the back of a Nelson Maziwisa double and another strike by Simba Sithole in the first leg in Curepipe last Sunday.

But a bonus row, which erupted yesterday, threatened to scupper the Warriors’ qualification chances with the players reportedly unhappy that they are still to be paid their bonuses for both last Saturday’s CHAN encounter and the Cosafa Cup championships the week before.

Skipper Masimba Mambare and his troops are understood to have downed their tools for the afternoon session and threatened to boycott the game against Mauritius prompting Zifa to throw their begging bowl around and intensify their efforts to raise the money needed to pay for the players’ bonuses.

Zifa saddled with US$4.4 million debt, have been surviving on the benevolence of their president Cuthbert Dube who paid for their travel to Zambia for the Cosafa Cup as well as the flights to and from Mauritius.

Sources close to the Warriors dressing room indicated last night that the discontent simmered in the afternoon when the players refused to train until they had been paid the outstanding bonuses with a further threat of boycotting the match also being issued.

“When they went to Mauritius they had been promised that they would get their bonuses on return from that country but now nothing has been coming their way and they are threatening not to fulfill the game.

“It would be unfortunate if the matter is not addressed because the players need to be focused and wrap up the game against Mauritius,’’ the source said.

Zifa chief executive, Jonathan Mashingaidze, confirmed that there had been unease in the Warriors’ camp over the bonuses issue but insisted that they were “running round to secure some funding or at least part of what the players are owed.

Mashingaidze said the Warriors’ upkeep would also be discussed at this morning’s full board meeting where incentives for tomorrow’s match and for the second round of the CHAN qualifiers are expected to be rolled out. The board has not met since before the Cosafa tournament in Zambia.

Mashingaidze once again made a passionate appeal to the corporate world and to the nation at large to “chip and help Zifa keep the players motivated’’.

“It is no secret that this institution (Zifa) is living from hand to mouth and our situation remains dire but we have a moral obligation to pay the players and indeed our other creditors,’’ Mashingaidze said.

Mashingaidze said the board would also table the issue of the Warriors bonuses and come up with a common position when they meet this morning.

“It is not a matter for one individual . . . the issue of upkeep and gratuity is being discussed at the board meeting because it important that we pay the players and also ensure we avoid situations that could breed such ills like Asiagate which can come about when you don’t pay your players.

“We are very much aware that the players need to be remunerated for the Cosafa and the CHAN tournament and we are have to find how best to keep them motivated to meet the target of qualifying for the CHAN finals.

“The association is living from hand to mouth but we have to act collectively and the Trust is also continuously trying to find ways to raise resources that help the national team,’’ Mashingaidze said.

Mashingaidze also noted that the severe battering that Zifa continued to get over their their financial problems had a huge negative impact in their efforts to rebrand and turn around the association’s fortunes.

There have also been concerns about the failure by the association to produce their financial audited statements.

But the problem in the Warriors camp also presents a serious reality check for the association’s leadership which has literally left everything to Dube to fund without seeking other innovative ways to sustain the national  game.

It has become a worrying trend at Zifa that everything appears to remain stagnant until and unless Dube digs deeper into his personal resources yet his fellow board members also took an oath to serve the national game when they accepted the mandate to lead football in 2010.

But to their credit, Zifa’s decision to appoint Gorowa as coach has been greeted with a lot of optimism with calls being made for the association to give the former Moroka Swallows mentor a substantive deal that would give him time to build a team for the 2015 African Nations Cup competition.

However, if the board would want Gorowa to also stay motivated and focused on the challenge of helping his country’s flagship team, they would have to move mountains to secure the resources that would make the coach’s job easier.

One such challenge presented itself yesterday with the coach having to face a group of players whose focus on tomorrow’s game has been somehow diluted by issues related to their bonuses.

Gorowa had also warned his charges against being complacent in their approach to tomorrow’s encounter arguing that Mauritius have nothing to lose and could spoil the Warriors party if treated lightly. The Herald