At the summit of the log with only five matches remaining were Mutare City, a point above second-placed Buffaloes Junior. Teams jostling for promotion recently accused ZIFA officials of colluding with referees to determine which club should make it to the PSL.
The top four teams, Mutare City, Buffaloes Junior, Masvingo United and Eastern Stars, all have a chance to be promoted. Officials who refused to be named for fear of jeopardising their promotion chances, levelled allegations of match-fixing and bribery against ZIFA and match officials.
Some match and ZIFA officials were allegedly getting as much as $500 per match to fix matches.
“It is no longer football but a case of money at play,” said one of the officials. “It is a situation where you just have to pay to get favourable results.” Another official said they had nowhere to register their concerns because ZIFA officials responsible for running the game in the region were also part of the syndicate.
“That is why clubs from the region fail to stand the heat in the premier league,” said another official. “Just look at Chiredzi. The team has been at the bottom of the log since day one of the opening matches of this season and has actually failed to stand the heat in the premier league.”
ZIFA Eastern region official, Tedious Machawira, dismissed the allegations, claiming all was well within the league. “We are running the league smoothly and I think those complaining have already seen that with their level of play they are out of the race,” he said. “After all we have not received any complaint from any of the teams that are in the running.”
Post published in: Football