Attempts by Zifa president Cuthbert Dube to flee the Warriors chaos were halted by the Canadian Embassy which denied him a visa to travel and watch today’s Fifa Women’s World Cup final.
BY MICHAEL MADYIRA
The Warriors endured a horror episode last week and only travelled on the last minute to Comoros for yesterday’s Chan Qualifier. While anarchy reigned with no funds for the trip to the Indian Ocean Island, Dube was absorbed in his own battle to obtain a visa to travel to Canada.
The Zifa boss has been absent from local football events, including Warriors matches, only to resurface at international occasions.
He was in Zurich in May for the 65th Fifa Congress where he expressed his love for embattled Fifa president Sepp Blatter in front of international media despite shunning the local press on many occasions.
But the Canadian Embassy refused to grant him permission to attend the Women’s World Cup final as well as the Fifa Women’s Football Symposium which ran on the sidelines of the competition. Zimbabwe Women’s Football administrator Theresa Maguraushe had to travel alone.
Zifa chief executive officer Jonathan Mashingaidze blamed the infighting at Zifa that has soiled Dube’s name for him being denied the visa.
“He failed to travel due to visa issues,” said Mashingaidze. “It was very complex for him to obtain one because the Canadian Embassy was not willing. These shenanigans happening at Zifa are the cause and they complicated everything. At least there is Theresa and she is representing us well.”
