Zifa clarify expenditure FOR OUR NATION . . . The Warriors pose for a group picture just before their 2019 AFCON qualifier against Liberia at the National Sports Stadium on Sunday
FOR OUR NATION . . . The Warriors pose for a group picture just before their 2019 AFCON qualifier against Liberia at the National Sports Stadium on Sunday

FOR OUR NATION . . . The Warriors pose for a group picture just before their 2019 AFCON qualifier against Liberia at the National Sports Stadium on Sunday

Petros Kausiyo Deputy Sports Editor
ZIFA have insisted there is nothing amiss in them deducting a mandatory 10 percent levy as part of their expenditure from the income generated from last Sunday’s opening 2019 African Cup of Nations qualifier against Liberia at the National Sports Stadium.

The football mother body also said their decision to include the $56 100 sponsorship they received from Prophetic Healing and Deliverance Ministries founder Prophet Walter Magaya on the expenditure table was in line with accounting procedures.

Magaya offered the Warriors a two-week-all-expenses-paid-for VVIP camp at his Yadah Hotel complex in Harare.

ZIFA executive member in charge of finance Philemon Machana on Wednesday released a statement of comprehensive income for the match, which the Warriors won 3-0 courtesy of a superb hat-trick by skipper Knowledge Musona.

No sooner had Machana chronicled how ZIFA were left with a net deficit of $56 683,85 that some of the soccer mother body’s critics took to social media to challenge the association’s decision to deduct $5 889,30 as 10 percent levy. The critics also questioned the move by the ZIFA finance department to also cite the sponsorship from Magaya on their expenditure list, with some even rushing to suggest reports that the prophet bankrolled the Warriors’ camp were not true.

It was the critics’ contention that while such bodies like the Sport and Recreation Commission, FIFA and CAF could afford to get their levies “ZIFA should not be doing the same’’.

But Machana yesterday clarified all the questions pertaining to the inclusion of the sponsorship they received from Magaya on the income and expenditure statement as well as the ZIFA levy.

“I think what all those who are questioning our figures need to understand is that an income statement is not a cash flow statement,’’ said Machana. “If one looks clearly at the sponsorship that we received from Prophet Magaya, for instance, we noted it as income and then in the same statement it set off the expenditure that we would have incurred if we had paid for the Warriors camp ourselves. As a result, what we actually paid for from the income that came from the gates is the accommodation expenses for the Liberia delegation and the match officials.

“With regards to the ZIFA levy, there are regulations which state that any match under the auspices of ZIFA, be it a PSL league or cup match or national team, the game is levied.

“In this case, the funds that were levied offset the administration costs related to that particular match.’’

The ZIFA finance guru insisted that what was important was to have more sponsorship packages in the mould of the $56 100 they received from Magaya coming in the way of the Warriors.

This, Machana said, could be sponsorship packages that take care of such expenses like air tickets for the foreign-based players, appearances fees and winning bonuses.

That just three years ago, ZIFA tried without success to find a similar amount to pay Brazilian coach Valinhos and save the Warriors from being expelled from the 2018 World Cup, puts into perspective the significance of the sponsorship deal they secured from PHD.

And that Magaya pledged to house the Warriors during their campaign for a place at the 2019 Nations Cup in Cameroon translates into a huge saving for ZIFA.

ZIFA have previously camped the Warriors at such hotels like the Rainbow Towers or Cresta Lodge, where the association would need to pay $130 and $136 a day respectively for bed and breakfast for a double room. Crucial for ZIFA is the huge saving the association made in having a full board VVIP accommodation, transport and training facilities, which if broken down for a delegation of 35, shows that the senior side was also staying for a hugely discounted rate.

Had they been paying for themselves at that discounted rate, the Warriors would have forked out $114 for each of the VVIP rooms, including all the meals and their laundry.

Machana also noted with concern that while sport the world over was now being driven by millions that come from television revenue, the same could not be said of the situation in Zimbabwe. “The world over, it is television money that is driving those sporting disciplines, whether it is cricket, tennis, rugby or football,’’ Machana said.

A look at the match day expenditure also shows that ZIFA forked out $58 280 in allowances, appearance fees and bonuses. Machana also indicated that his association were not resting on their laurels and had engaged a marketing company to assist them with increasing their revenue inflows, including aggressive touchline advertising for the Warriors matches.

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