PHILIP CHIYANGWA moved a step further in his bid to completely chuck PSL chairman Peter Dube and Highlanders chief executive out of football when he warned top flight clubs against associating themselves with banned or expelled personalities.

ZIFA suspended both Dube and Gumede from all football activities last Monday with separate charge sheets but the latter has continued operating at Highlanders.

Dube was suspended for “unlawfully interrupting formal proceedings during a Zifa congress” and further attempting to incite chaos by urging PSL club reps to denounce “lawfully made resolutions” at a Zifa meeting held on October 29.

The meeting sought to iron out the impasse over PSL relegation slots and the playoffs for the four promoted teams from the four Division One regions.

Gumede, who has been defiant and continues operating as usual at Bosso, was suspended for allegedly trying to have the Zifa board dissolved unconstitutionally.

In a letter directed to PSL clubs Friday afternoon, emanating from Zifa acting CEO Joseph Mamutse’s office, the football mother body instructed all the top flight clubs to provide details of their executive committees.

The letter also warns clubs against associating themselves with members that have been suspended or expelled, a move that will effectively plunge both the PSL and Highlanders into a leadership crisis.

“The ZIFA Executive Committee directs that all Zimbabwe Premier Soccer League Clubs be fully compliant with their membership obligations to ZIFA in terms of Article 13 of the ZIFA Constitution.

“In particular, each club is required to promptly submit to the ZIFA Acting Chief Executive Officer, details of the following: Full names, telephone numbers and email addresses of:-

1.    The club’s Chairman/President

2.    The club’s CEO

3.    The club’s Spokesperson

 

“Further, in accordance with Article 13(h), each club is bound not to maintain any relations of any nature whatsoever with persons and entities that have no legal recognition in the ZIFA statutes or with individuals and members that have been suspended or expelled,” read the letter.

 “All Zimbabwe PSL clubs are required at all material times to be fully compliant with all decisions, directives and resolutions of the ZIFA Congress and ZIFA Executive Committee.

 “Any violation of membership obligations may lead to sanctions provided for in the statutes in terms Article 13(2) of the ZIFA Constitution.”

An analyst who preferred anonymity said the fact that ZIFA had written directly to the PSL clubs, bypassing the league’s secretariat was tantamount to usurping the powers of the PSL leadership.

“The letter should have been directed to the PSL secretariat, with the way things are going, don’t be surprised if the top flight league is usurped by the football mother body,” said the analyst.