By Sikhumbuzo Moyo
ZIFA met Fifa officials in South Africa and deliberated on the association’s debt extinguishing process after being barred from attending the Cosafa annual general meeting at the weekend.
The Zifa delegation led by its president Felton Kamambo was physically removed from the entrance of the meeting room to the hotel lobby by security in Johannesburg last Saturday after being deemed not to be in good and regular standing.
Zifa and the world football governing body also discussed the second cycle of the Fifa Forward 2.0 programme whereby Zifa is expected to receive about US$6million over the next four years.
“While we might have been barred from attending the Cosafa annual general meeting, we took the opportunity to meet with Fifa on the sidelines of the regional meeting, whose agenda was mainly a debt restructuring roll over plan, processes that we must now follow to cure the debt as well as other projects that we want to pursue this year, including the Fifa Forward 2.0 programme issues,” said Zifa.
The meeting was also confirmed by the Fifa regional office development manager David Fani in response to emailed questions from Chronicle Sport.
“Indeed we met with Zifa officials on the sidelines of the Cosafa annual general meeting held in Johannesburg on 25 January 2020 to discuss Fifa Forward related matters,” said Fani, a former Botswana Football Association president.
The Fifa Forward Development Programme was first adopted by the Fifa Congress on May 9, 2016, and it was to become not only a “step change” for global football development and the way Fifa shares the success of the Fifa World Cup with member associations, but also one of the most prominent sports development programmes.
“Fifa Forward is built to provide 360-degree, tailor-made support for football development in each of our member associations and the six confederations and is based on three principles; more investment, more impact and more oversight.
The aim is to improve the way we develop and support football across the globe so that football can reach its potential in every single country, and so that everyone that wants to take part can do so without barriers,” says Fifa about the Forward programme. The Chronicle
