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Petros Kausiyo Deputy Sports Editor
THE Sport and Recreation Commission have closed the door on some hawks who have been seeking to influence them into intervening in the affairs of ZIFA, with the supreme sports regulatory body yesterday insisting they will only deal with the bona-fide leadership of the association led by Philip Chiyangwa.

Acting Sports Commission director-general Joseph Muchechetere yesterday also warned social media hawks, administrators and individuals, who have been claiming to have engaged his body to act on alleged transgression by ZIFA to, in fact, deal with the association’s executive.

Muchechetere acknowledged that they had received some letters, “some of them official and others unofficial against ZIFA’’ but the claims made in such letters would not warrant the Sports Commission’s intervention.

“SRC is a well-structured and professional organisation that deals with and respects the structures that exists within each organisation.

“We will not entertain any outsider. Of course, some people have thrown anonymous letters and others claim to have engaged us, but let me make it clear that we have not entertained anyone and we will not entertain or act on information that comes from the streets or on social media as this is outside the structures of an organisation like ZIFA.

“Anything that has to do with ZIFA, we refer it to ZIFA to deal with and those outside football, be they on social media platforms, individuals or organisations, will have to understand that we cannot deal with them.

“ZIFA are the only body mandated to run the affairs of football in this country, just like the Zimbabwe Rugby Union are the body mandated to run rugby.

“It’s unfortunate that some individuals or leaders in sport think that if they send information to SRC, then SRC will intervene . . . No.

“As SRC, if there is a serious issue with any association, which warrants us to institute an inquiry, we will do in consultation with the respective association and we have previously done that with ZIFA like when the Warriors boycotted a farewell dinner before they went to the AFCON in Gabon and when there were some problems during the term of the previous ZIFA board.

“If anything, we actually protect the integrity of each association that is under us,’’ Muchechetere said.

Muchechetere’s remarks literally put to rest sensational claims by some social media hawks and those recently made by former ZIFA employees Jonathan Mashingaidze and Fabian Vanganayi, that they had sought the Sports Commission’s intervention against the association.

Vanganayi reportedly claimed at the weekend that he had told the Sports Commission that the recent ZIFA annual meeting was illegal and that he would be taking the matter to the courts.

Muchechetere seemed to have virtually pushed Vanganayi and his cabal under the bus when welcomed the staging of the ZIFA annual meeting and also indicated that he had been in touch with the association’s chief executive Joseph Mamutse to get a report on the indaba.

“SRC does not micro-manage associations and once they have convened their meetings or amended their constitutions, the associations have an obligation to register the amendments with us.

“So, in the case of ZIFA, we are yet to receive a report of the meeting and the intended amendments so that we can register them and so in the absence of that, the ZIFA constitution that is currently at play is that which was registered with the SRC on 28 September 2013.

“We have already talked to Mamutse and he has indicated that he is in the process of compiling his report for submission to us,’’ Muchechetere said.

The long-serving Sports Commission administrator also maintained that he did not have any frosty relationship with Chiyangwa and his executive.

“I have nothing against Philip. He has been a good friend and a brother and we talk anytime.

“I fact I have nothing against anyone in football for that matter, I talk to Omega (Sibanda), I talk to (Phil) Machana, I talk to Mamutse.

“I have been in sport for more than 30 years and why should I be caught on the wrong side now?’’

Muchechetere said the Sports Commission and ZIFA had been working well since Sports, Arts and Recreation Minister Kazembe Kazembe’s peace indaba.