Zifa Probes Betting

Radio VOP has been told that the scandal, unearthed by the media at the weekend, had sucked in senior Zifa officials including programmes officer Jonathan Musavengana, who had since been suspended pending investigations.

Zifa president Cuthbert Dube appointed Gumede to head a three member team to investigate the serious allegations, which if proved true could have catastrophic consequences for Zimbabwe football. 

The other members of the investigating team are Methembe Ndlovu, who is the board member for development, Bennedict Moyo, a board member and board member for development Elliot Kasu.

Details have emerged that  some players and coaches were paid amounts ranging from US$1000 to $5000 to lose matches with score line margins required by the Asian betting syndicates. The Warriors lost heavily to Thailand, Syria and Malaysian club Selangor.

A Zifa official who refused to be named confirmed the development.

“These serious allegations were raised by one coach and some players who still feel guilty of what they did in getting blood money from betting syndicates. They feel used and abused and the Zimbabwean man believed to be at the centre of the scandal has since been suspended.

“Remember these matches would come from nowhere and at times some board members would only read in the newspapers that the Warriors were taking part in an Asian tournament. There were so many things wrong with the tournaments and Zifa would want to get to the bottom of it,” said the official.

The Warriors lost 3-0 to Thailand and lost 6-0 to Syria.