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FIFA development officer for Africa Zelfifli Ngoufonja

Takudzwa Chitsiga Sports Reporter
ZIFA will have to find their way out of their web of debt, without a bailout from FIFA, after the world football governing body reiterated yesterday that it had no facility to pluck financially-distressed national associations out of the woods.
The local football body, weighed down by a $6 million debt, which has made it technically insolvent, has been hoping for a rescue package from FIFA to put their books back on track and save the organisation from an army of creditors who have resorted to attaching property to try and get their outstanding dues.

FIFA development officer for Africa, Zelfifli Ngoufonja, told journalists yesterday at a media briefing at ZIFA Village, that there would be no bailout from the Zurich-based organisation to liquidate ZIFA’s ballooning debt.

Ngoufonja, who was accompanied by FIFA development officer for Southern Africa Ashford Mamelodi, spent five days in the country, where they also met some of the ZIFA creditors but, at the end of their visit, made it clear that there would be no bailout from Zurich.

“My mission is to discuss football development programmes with various members of FIFA, but ZIFA is having problems financially,” Ngoufonja said.

“I had to meet some of their creditors to understand and gain a better picture of the prevailing situation and to advise them that although we have a responsibility, we have no programme to support any debt for a member association or problems and issues that ZIFA is facing.

“The first step is to understand the depth of the problem but FIFA has no programme to support debt financing.”

The Cameroonian football official, who is based in Zurich, said his visit had given him the opportunity to meet some of the ZIFA creditors to understand, first-hand, the nature of their challenges that the association were facing and offer his advice.

He advised ZIFA to draft a programme that will help them to dissolve their debt.

Ngoufonja said the state of football in Zimbabwe was a cause for concern.

“We have witnessed a situation, which needs some external stakeholders to come together with the football mother body and map a way forward to see the sport continues to exist.

“Football is a game loved by everyone,” he said.

ZIFA president, Cuthbert Dube, who is the association’s biggest creditor, also attended the media conference that was graced by board members and the association’s chief executive Jonathan Mashingaidze.

The association’s vice-president, Omega Sibanda, who flew in from Bulawayo yesterday morning, arrived after the media conference had ended.

The ZIFA board members had been given an hour, on Wednesday, from 3.30pm to 4.30pm, to meet with the visiting FIFA delegation.

Interestingly, Ngoufonia is not the first FIFA official to sing the song that the Zurich organisation will not bailout ZIFA from their financial challenges.

Since 2012, ZIFA have been banking on FIFA to roll out a raft of measures to assist the local organisation out of their financial mess.

Two years ago, ZIFA made an unprecedented appeal for more than $1.5 million from FIFA to help them to recapitalise and pay off their creditors, some of whom had resorted to taking legal action against the association.

FIFA sent their financial consultant, Rolf Eggenberger, to assess the situation on the ground and he met the ZIFA board, Government officials, the Sport and Recreation Commission, the ZIFA bankers and some of the association’s creditors.

The German financial expert arrived here in the company of Mamelodi and, after compiling his report, also made it clear that there would be no bailout from Zurich.

In January last year, FIFA expressed concern at ZIFA’s debt, which had soared to $4 million, amid concerns that it could spiral out of control.

This followed another visit here by Mamelodi and his fellow FIFA official Fidelis Banda, who warned ZIFA they risked losing financial support if they did not implement cost-cutting measures.

In response, Mashingaidze said they were ready to implement austerity measures.

“The hallmark is on expenses and austerity measures so that we eat what we gather and once we have come up with a position which shows that our expenditure does not exceed the income then we are on the right track,” Mashingaidze said, promising that his association would scale down on their operations and implement some cost-cutting measures.

“In the absence of that fifa are not going to offer support lines so the secretariat has to be strict in terms of implementing the budget.

“We hope that at 50 years we will now have a new-look association that would have serviced its debts, an association that will have a paradigm shift in the way we run football.

“We appeal to all service providers to be patient and calm with us as we negotiate this treacherous period of debt servicing.”

Sadly, eighteen months later, ZIFA find themselves in deeper financial woes.

Yesterday, Dube assured the delegation that no ZIFA property was going to be attached, especially the material donated by FIFA for football development.

“There were some worries that some ZIFA property will be attached because of debts but I assured them that the property is in the name of ZIFA (Pvt) (Ltd).

“All FIFA material is safe as we managed to engage our legal partners when they tried to attach our property.

“The property in ZIFA (Pvt) (Ltd) will not be taken as it is for football development for the nation,” Dube said.

Mamelodi said he was concerned that the PSL was relegating a quarter of its membership at the end of every season with four out of 16 teams facing the boot.

“There is no rule of relegating teams from the Premiership but soccer as a continuous process, which seeks to produce the best results, I think play-offs are the way to go,” said Mamelodi.

“To have the best you should choose from the best as well so it is best that they engage in play-offs as relegating four teams is as good as removing a quarter of the league.”