 Pamire is going nowhere |
Fears that the stand-off between the Zimbabwe Football Association and the country's sports minister could escalate have been heightened by the intervention of Cosafa - southern Africa's governing body. Furious at what he perceived to be government interference in football matters, Cosafa chairman Ismail Bhamjee wrote a letter to Zifa and advised them to stand their ground.
Bhamjee, who is also a Fifa executive committee member, wrote: "The directive issued by your minister will not be accepted by Fifa, Caf or Cosafa and could result in the suspension of Zifa from these international organisations.
Taking his cue from Bhamjee's chilling warning, acting Zifa chairman Vincent Pamire told BBC Sport website that they were not going to let politicians bully them out of office.
Pamire fumed: "We're going to carry on. We know we're only answerable to Fifa and Fifa has told us to stay put and act as if nothing has happened." "We always say success is a daughter to many but failure is an orphan. Everyone now wants the glory because we've qualified for the Nations Cup".
Pamire, who took over the hot seat when Leo Mugabe was forced out, said Zifa cannot and will not abandon its position regarding the government's involvement in football affairs
"Football is the most popular sport in this country and sometimes we have problems.
"But I hope politicians will take heed of Fifa's warning and stay away from us."
The dispute arose when the sports minister Aeneas Chigwedere decided he had had enough of Pamire and his board.
He ordered Zimbabwe's supreme policy-making body, the Sports and Recreation Commission, to wield the axe and get rid of Pamire's administration.
But as Fifa has already ordered Zifa to hold new elections by 30 September 2003, the sports minister was accused of making an "ill-timed and unhelpful" decision.
Pamire also rejected out of hand Chigwedere's assertion that the Zifa administration was inept.
"We're very, very competent because despite all the problems we've had, we managed to qualify for the Nations Cup finals.
"With our meagre resources we are in the semi-finals of the Cosafa Cup, so this shows that we're very competent."
Asked whether he was prepared to meet the sports minister for talks, Pamire he was not prepared to waste his time if "politicians continually make a difficult job impossible."
MMIX
E-mail this to a friend 
Printable version 
We know we're only answerable to Fifa 