-as they eye promotion into D1
MOSES MADYIRA
CHIKOMBA—One of the biggest and most supported teams in ZIFA Mash East Province D2, Chivhu FC has written to the provincial board to reconsider its decision to dock them 12 points for games played with unaffiliated teams.
Chivhu FC were docked 12 points which they had earned from earlier games with teams that were eventually deregistered as they had failed to pay affiliation fees.
This has resulted in the team failing to gain automatic promotion into the second tier of football in the country, ZIFA Eastern Region Soccer League Division One and Chivhu FC has written a letter of complaint against the decision which they said was diabolic.
The board made a decision to deduct points from teams after Chivhu FC and Rusununguko FC who were both title contenders had finished level on points with the former topping the league on superior goal difference.
Th board chairman, Oscar Tsvuura said unaffiliated teams had no stake in the league so the board nullified those games. He also assured teams that the board will look to reimburse part of the costs incurred in fulfilling those nullified matches.
“It is not true that points were deducted but the truth is the games which unaffiliated teams played were nullified because they had no stake in the league. In as much the games were sanctioned by ZIFA, the board had to ensure fair play for all teams in the league.
“We reached a point to deduct points at the end of the season because it was a pending issue and it could have been done at any given time during the season. The season had come to an end hence our recorder had to be reconciled in order to come up with the proper position. The board may reimburse part of the costs incurred by affiliated clubs in fulfilling these matches,” said Tsvuura.
The Midweek Watch is in possession of a letter from Chivhu FC dated 16 November 2023 and directed to the ZIFA Normalisation Committee, Eastern Region Division 1 Soccer League, and Sports and Recreation Commission (SRC) where the local club labels the decision to deduct points from them and other clubs without making any prior engagements or communication as an anti-football.
In an interview, the Chivhu FC chairman, Marufu Madhuveko said the decision from the board was unfair as it helped teams that joined the league later when the season had already commenced.
“The decision was unfair, other teams joined the league after we had already played about four games. They sanctioned us to play against all unaffiliated teams in the first round and unaffiliated teams were not allowed to play in the second round.
“We never thought the board would make such a decision. They should have done that when they stopped unaffiliated teams from playing or calling a meeting to address the issue not to wait until the season is over then deduct points because we had won the league.
“We feel we have been robbed, what they did is unfair, it’s them who allowed those unaffiliated teams to play, it’s not our fault that Rusununguko joined later in the league,” said Madhuveko.
Magamba FC coach Terence Mandizadza castigated the decision made by ZIFA Mash East Province board as that hinders the development of the most beautiful game at grassroots level.
“The decision by ZIFA is anti-football and hinders the growth of the game. We travelled to as far as Kotwa to fulfill the matches and then other teams join the league later when other teams have already played matches and they are made to benefit from that. The decision is unfair and we are greatly disappointed,” said Mandizadza.
After Chivhu FC played its last make or break match against Magamba FC where they comfortably won the match, ZIFA released an updated log table which gave Chivhu FC 32 points and was on top of the league. The league executives took clubs by surprise when they released a totally new log table after about a week with a congratulatory message to Rusununguko for winning the 2023 ZIFA Mash East Division 2 League.
