By Austin Karonga
The Zimbabwe Football Association (Zifa) yesterday banned ex-presidents Trevor Carelse- Juul and Rafiq Khan, ex-deputy president Vincent Pamire and former board member Eusebio Maseko from all football activities.
The ban follows a meeting held by Carelse-Juul and company in Harare on Thursday where they castigated the Philip Chiyangwa-led Zifa executive.
Zifa chief executive officer Joseph Mamutse said in a statement: “Zifa has provisionally expelled Carelse-Juul, Maseko, Khan and Pamire from partaking in any association football-related activities in Zimbabwe for violating the Zifa constitution.
“The reason was unanimously made by the Zifa executive committee at its meeting on April 13, 2018 citing the above individuals’ gross violations of the Zifa constitution and their establishment of parallel structures to usurp power from constitutionally elected officials.
“Absolute disdain and disregard for the Zifa constitution and the Zifa rules and regulations. The expelled individuals’ conduct intransigently violates Article 2(e), (f) and Article 7 of the Zifa constitution. Accordingly, the expelled officials cease to be members of the football family and are not allowed to associate with or represent any bona fide member of the football family.”
Meanwhile, Carelse-Juul earlier released a statement on behalf of the former Zifa presidents dubbed The State of Football in Zimbabwe as of April 2018.
“Let me once more thank all those who have come from the length and breadth of Zimbabwe to be part of this process that from today onwards, move to ensure the Zifa constitution is followed, enforced and allow the game to reclaim the professional management of Zimbabwean Football,” he said.
“The critical group gathered…will help play an important part to rescue our beautiful game from the apparent clutches of unconstitutionalism, mismanagement, pillaging of association resources, abuse of players and coaches, patronage and stagnation.”
“The constitutional leadership vacuum currently existing in Zimbabwean football today cannot be ignored by any responsible citizen of Zimbabwe.
“The vacuum was occasioned by human error and apparent failings which saw the former Zifa executive committee, then in office since December 5, 2015, failing to discharge their duties which are clearly prescribed in the Zifa constitution Article 34.” Daily News
