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Prophet Magaya

Grace Chingoma Senior Sports Reporter
PROPHET Walter Magaya again came to the rescue of the Warriors yesterday when he had to meet the players and persuade them to go into battle against Guinea in the crunch 2017 Nations Cup qualifier at Rufaro.

The Warriors, who were promised $42 000 by ZIFA president Cuthbert Dube ahead of their first qualifier against Malawi, but have still not been paid, yesterday morning threatened to boycott the match.

Tension has been simmering in their camp all week and matters came to a head yesterday when the players decided that, unless they were paid their outstanding winning bonuses, they would not fulfil the game against Guinea.

Magaya, who bailed the team out to enable them to travel for the game against Malawi, was then roped in to try and rescue the situation.

The prophet, who is a football fanatic, held a meeting with ZIFA board members, Twine Phiri and John Phiri, in the company of chief executive Jonathan Mashingaidze, where the association’s leadership pleaded with him to bail them out.

Magaya met the players at 11 am and addressed them.

He asked them to go and play the match for the sake of their nation and fans, and said he would be the guarantor in a deal where ZIFA promised to release $30 000, generated from gate receipts, towards the players.

Magaya told the players that should ZIFA fail to honour part of the agreement, he would then pay the $30 000.

The prophet also gave the Warriors $20 000, to boost their morale, ahead of the big game yesterday.

Magaya confirmed to The Herald that he had stepped in to help diffuse a volatile situation.

“I was asked to come in and help because the players were saying that they would not leave their camp for the stadium if the issue of their money was not resolved,” Magaya said.

“I have talked to the boys and I have also given them $20 000. The good thing is that they have resolved that they are now going to play the game and that is what is important right now.

“This is for our country and that’s why I had to come in and provide the help and talk to the players.”

One of his aides said the prophet was not amused that ZIFA left it until very late when they knew that they had a crisis in their camp.

“Everyone knew about this match well in advance and they could have approached him just after the Malawi match.

“But meetings and phone calls only started last night. But the prophet loves football and this is a national team we are talking about, and he has no choice.

“He is going to South Africa end of this month for a crusade and it would be embarrassing for him as a citizen of this country that his national team failed to fulfil an important match so he had to put his head on the block,” said the aide.

Magaya has in the past bailed the Warriors and the Mighty Warriors but publicly criticised ZIFA recently after he questioned why the money he gave to the national team, which went to South Africa for the COSAFA Cup, did not all get to the players and their coaching staff.

ZIFA also have to use proceeds from the gate receipts to pay back the loan they received from a Harare man to pay $12 000 for the air tickets for the foreign-based players, $6 000 for the air tickets of the referees, their match fees and accommodation costs and duty for the new kit that was used by the Warriors.