National soccer team players refused to train on the second day of preparations for Sunday’s do-or-die showdown against Guinea at Rufaro Stadium, insisting on being paid their outstanding bonuses from two matches- a win against Namibia and draw against Kenya.
The Warriors returned to the training pitch on Thursday after being addressed by Zifa officials, but the association is said to have launched an investigation into who was behind the rebellion.
According to players interviewed by RadioVOP, Zifa have been targeting junior members of the team in trying to come up with names, with veiled threats of “treason” being levelled against the Warriors.
Zifa chief executive officer Henrietta Rushwaya exonerated her organisation from any wrongdoing in the embarrassing episode, insisting the Central Bank had delayed processing the payouts, and vowed Zifa would get to the bottom of the rebellion.
“This whole issue is being blown out of proportion, yet we had always discussed the matter of payment with the players, so this strike action is very surprising. But we hope to get to the bottom of the matter because it is a shame national team players could hold the country to ransom by refusing to train, yet we are faced with a very crucial match on Sunday,” said Rushwaya. – Radio VOP
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