The 2016 Olympics qualifier between the Mighty Warriors and Ivory Coast women’s national team was yesterday cancelled after the West Africans failed to jet into the country for the match that had been scheduled for Rufaro this afternoon.
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Zifa secretary general Jonathan Mashingaidze spent the better part of the day enquiring from various airlines if Ivory Coast had booked a flight to Zimbabwe but could not get any confirmation.
The West Africans’ failure to travel for the match could complicate matters after Zimbabwe also could not visit them for the first leg which was duly awarded to Ivory Coast on a 3-0 scoreline.
Fifa head of World Cup and Olympic qualifiers wrote to Zifa late yesterday informing them about the cancellation of the match.
“The Ivorian Football Federation informs Fifa that they will eventually not be able to make it for the 2016 Olympic qualifier second leg match initially [set for] August 2 2015 due to logistical reasons after Fifa’s disciplinary decision of last Wednesday 29 July 2015,” Savic wrote to Mashingaidze.
“Therefore the match scheduled for tomorrow will not be able to take place on the day of 2 August 2015. We will keep both parties concerned informed of the outcome of this unfortunate situation as of the beginning of next week. Also note that we will try to arrange for the return of our Fifa delegation ASAP. We will keep you informed if we manage to find earlier flights for all of them. Sorry for this short notice and keep in touch.”
The referee from Kenya and his Malawian assistants penciled to handle the match arrived in the country on Friday. The match commissioner was Kelly Mkandanga from Rwanda while referees’ assessor was Tanzanian Joan Minga. Zifa claim that the Ivory Coast Football Federation was last week not responding to emails they sent regarding the match.
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Mashingaidze responded to Savic, confirming receipt of Fifa’s correspondence.
