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Tadious Manyepo Sports Reporter

HEADS could roll at Dynamos whose leadership is finalising investigations on the age-cheating saga which rocked the club’s junior team at the Marvelous Nakamba Foundation Invitational Under-17 football tournament in Bulawayo last week.

DeMbare, who were one of the clubs invited for the Warriors and Aston Villa midfielder’s junior development thrust, were caught on the south of the set rules after fielding at least two over-aged players.

Dylan Gumbe and Dynamos Division Two side player Vusimusi Ngwenya’s ages were flagged well after the contest had begun.

Gumbe, according to organisers of the inaugural annual tournament, used doctored birth documents which indicated that he was born in 2005.

However, it was discovered that the player is actually 22-years-old while Ngwenya is said to be two years his junior.

The Harare giants were the most impressive team on show at the junior football tournament which had eight teams grouped into two pools of four.

The Glamour Boys were in Group A together with eventual winners Manicaland Juniors Soccer Academy (MAJESA), Highlanders and Njube Sundowns.

They walloped both MAJESA and Njube Sundowns 3-0 and 3-1 respectively before accounting for Bosso 1-0 to top the group with Highlanders coming out second and MAJESA third.

The Mutare-based MAJESA were heading back home since only the top-two teams from each group were progressing to the semi-finals, until the organisers booted out DeMbare.

They would then be given a life-line qualifying to the last four as the group runners-up following the expulsion of the Lloyd “Mablanyo” Chigowe-coached side before going all the way to be crowned champions after a 2-1 win over Bosso in the final.

The decision to sanction Dynamos, though, was hotly-contested with the Glamour Boys leadership at the tournament raising concerns over the way they had been treated pointing out that almost all the other teams had some age-cheats in their ranks.

The Glamour Boys received brickbats from both mainstream and social media, especially after it was discovered Gumbe was once at the centre of age-cheating controversy that resulted in Zimbabwe being booted out of the COSAFA Under-17 tournament three years ago.

As a result of the Bulawayo boob, Dynamos were forced to open an in-house inquiry to get to the bottom of the matter.

The club’s executive chairman, Isiah Mupfurutsa, told The Herald last week that the club was starting investigations over the matter.

“We are not yet pointing at anyone until we finish our investigations.

“As a club we don’t condone such practices (age-cheating) and as (Dynamos) management, we always make a plea for people to shun such unprofessional conduct,” said Mupfurutsa.

“However we are still carrying out investigations internally to establish the correct facts and at the appropriate time, we will communicate the action we will have taken.”

And yesterday Mupfurutsa said the investigations were at their tail-end with the team expected to issue a statement on their findings by next week.

“We are finalising our investigations and we hope to conclude everything by next week. We will then issue (comprehensive) communication,” said Mupfurutsa.

Unfair practices, including age-manipulation, have become a cancer in local football and most of the tournaments designed to afford youngsters a platform to develop have failed to serve the intended purpose.

Most of the time perpetrators get away with it and stakeholders have been unequivocal in their call for the speedy passing of the Sports Integrity Bill approved by Cabinet last year.

Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation Minister, Kirsty Coventry, told the Parliament in March that the Bill will be there to address the abnormalities which have been normalised in the sporting sector over time.

“We are coming up with the Zimbabwe Sports Integrity Bill. It is in the process of being put together and it is about to go to the Attorney-General’s Office before it comes out for consultation.

“Within that Bill, it will uphold equality for all as well as good governance and ensure the safeguarding of equal opportunities for all. It will address the inequalities towards female or male athletes and safeguard them in terms of match-fixing, corruption, abuse and anti-doping,” she said.