Marshall Munetsi hopes Govt will do right the thing to have FIFA ban lifted
Warriors midfielder Marshall Munetsi has continued to express his worry over the ban that the Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) were slapped with by the world football governing body, FIFA, at the start of the year.
The Stade Reims midfielder’s sentiments particularly involve the welfare of budding footballers whom he believes have been affected by the ongoing FIFA suspension.
Speaking to BBC Sport Africa, Munetsi said Zimbabwe’s ban from all international football activities by FIFA in February due to third party interference will impact the country’s young talented footballers.
“This ban has affected young players who have an ambition to be like me by coming to Europe,” he told BBC Sport Africa.
“It’s playing for my national team that gave me the opportunity to play against big countries and big players. It’s something that is sad and frustrating for us as a country, and for players.
“It’s a very complicated topic and I just hope the people involved can solve this because Fifa puts these rules [in place] to protect football.
“If our government doesn’t respect this, then we don’t deserve to play. I just hope the government can do the right thing and make sure we are able to play in the coming games.”
It is not the first time that the former Orlando Pirates player has spoken about Zimbabwe’s ban by FIFA.
In March, he took to his Twitter account to reveal he prays the parties involved which are the government arm, the SRC and the Felton Kamambo led suspended ZIFA board dialogue and reach a common ground.
“The ban on our national teams from international football and our local teams from international cup competitions is quite sad.
“l pray the parties involved can get to a resolution quickly so that we can get back to playing international football soon. And the decisions made will in fact pave a way for better running of our football,” read part of his long tweet.
Meanwhile, he further told BBC Sport Africa that players must be communicated with amid the feud which saw Zimbabwe getting banned from participating in all international football activities including the continental club football competitions.
“The thing is that they never communicate with the players. These are people who are just in positions because they maybe know so in government. They don’t know anything about football,” Munetsi added.
“For us, it hurts us a lot because this is our life. This is football and it’s something that can change a nation, that can change a lot of fortunes for the country.
“They have to ask us about certain things because, if you hear the accusations, it’s something that doesn’t have anything to do with football – it’s all politics.
“Fifa has a say on it, but they also have to communicate with us.”
