Zifa creditors say they were shortchanged in a big way following the decision by the football leadership to dissolve the bankrupt association and replace it with a new organisation called National Football Association of Zimbabwe.

Presenting oral evidence before the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee meeting on Thursday morning, Daisy Rusere, who represented the creditors, said they were hit below the belt by the football leadership whom she accused of running away from their responsibility.

Rusere, is the director of Daisy’s Guest House in Harare which has accommodated the Warriors and the Young Warriors have camped over the years until most recently before the COSAFA and the Under-20s in their regional tournaments.

ZIFA owed a long list of creditors in excess of $6m. Rusere said they have supported ZIFA in good faith over the years as service providers and had received several promises which were not honoured by both the new board led by Philip Chiyangwa and the Cuthbert Dube led executive committee.

She said ZIFA had even gave some of them commitment letters to settle the debts but the next thing they heard was ZIFA had been dissolved.

“As creditors we feel shortchanged. The national team needed the support from the service providers and we couldn’t deny them. But now the next thing we heard, without due notice, was that ZIFA no longer exists and there is a new organisation called NAFAZ. We were left exposed and as creditors we are very bitter with that,” said Rusere.

NAFAZ president Philip Chiyangwa also gave his presentation on the dissolution of ZIFA and the formation of NAFAZ. The meeting however later was adjourned as Chiyangwa had asked for leave to go to South Africa to see his doctor.