HARARE – The Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) has slammed critics who blamed the Warriors’ underperforming friendlies ahead of September’s World Cup qualifiers and early Africa Cup of Nations final next year.
The cash-strapped club say they have been forced to carefully select plays that benefit the team while balancing the books.
Zimbabwe, which is the black sheep of world football due to a lack of government funding, is also facing “astronomical sums for the organization of matches in times of pandemic”, the spokesman of ZIFA, Xolisani Gwesela said on Thursday.
“The economic environment drives all business activity, including the media, and we find it perplexing why ZIFA should always be awash with cash in an environment where most businesses are struggling,” Gwesela continued. .
“Recently, ZIFA has been informed that some sports journalists have approached the Premier Soccer League about being allowed to cover matches without undergoing a Covid-19 PCR test, as their media organizations were struggling to cover the cost of postponing the tests. “
Gwesela added: “All over the world, the costs of national teams are borne by governments, which is not the case in Zimbabwe due to the difficult economic environment… It is imperative to stress that the Warriors are heading to their third consecutive AFCON final, which is proof that we have the potential to become even better with more resources.
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