Zifa to blame: Coltart

Daily News

By Dakarai Mashava

12 October 2011

Harare - Sports Minister David Coltart has attributed the Warriors’ failure to qualify for the 2012 Africa Nations Cup (Afcon) to the bungling Zimbabwe Football Association (Zifa).

Zimbabwe failed to qualify for the finals to be held in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea next year after finishing third in Group A behind Mali and Cape Verde respectively.

The Warriors fate was sealed with a 2-1 defeat away to Cape Verde last Saturday in a match the team was let down by some shambolic defending from captain Method Mwanjali.

Coltart was speaking during the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Zifa and the Ministry of Education, Sport and Culture in Harare yesterday.

“The problem didn’t occur in Cape Verde. It dates back to the build-up to the first game,” Coltart said.

“The chaos that surrounded the appointment of the coaches undermined the team. But having said that we need to learn and move on.”

Zifa took time to appoint a substantive coach after the resignation of Sunday Chidzambwa who quit to join South African top flight side Free State Stars.

After a lot of debate within the Zifa board, Belgian Tom Seintfiet was finally appointed, but the decision left a fractured board.

Seintfiet was, however, deported after working with the Warriors for only one day when Zifa failed to secure a work permit for him shortly before the home match against Cape Verde.

In the end Zifa appointed Norman Mapeza and Madinda Ndlovu as joint coaches for that match, which ended in a disappointing 0-0 draw at the National Sports Stadium.

Coltart added that he was happy that Zifa has finally agreed to hold an indaba of all football stakeholders that will look at the financing and administration of soccer.

“We simply have to get the financing of football better organised. There has to be a collaborative exercise by all stakeholders to ensure that football financing is put on a sound footing,” he said.

“We have to bring together all the stakeholders that drain football finances like city councils.

“The last minute panicking where Zifa has continually sought assistance from Government at the last minute must stop. Had we gone in camp at least two weeks earlier before the Cape Verde game, the team would have performed better.”

Chaos that surrounded the appointment of the coaches undermined the team.