The Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) has attacked seasoned journalist Ezra Tshisa Sibanda who over the weekend exposed the football mother body for neglecting the welfare of the Under 17 girls team who were camped at a Bulawayo school ahead of their return match against Botswana.
Sibanda accused ZIFA of failing to provide the girls with food and sundries while they were in camp.
However, ZIFA hit back at Sibanda accusing him of harboring ulterior motives to tarnishing the association’s image while causing confusion in camp.
“As an Association we are not aware of any problems encountered during the camp as alleged by Mr Sibanda. It is clear that Ezra Sibanda is lying , grandstanding and attention seeking. How did he (Sibanda) get to know of this unique girls’ requirements as a man?
“The Association is fully aware that Ezra is another Phillip Chiyangwa stooge and is also helping his brother Omega Sibanda to cause chaos within the beautiful game of football.While Omega was causing a scene in South Africa as Chiyangwa’s bodyguard, Ezra was trying to infiltrate the young girls camp,” reads part of the statement.
In his response, Sibanda said the statement from ZIFA was a confirmation of the absence of professionalism at the association.
“…when such unprofessional incidents happen and are compounded by such unprofessional statements, it is disappointing and leads us to conclude that the allegations of unprofessionalism towards the Under 17 girls’ team are substantiated,” said Sibanda.
The Under 17 girls team lost by four goals to zero in Botswana in the reverse fixture before losing 0-2 in the return leg at home over the weekend.
