Zifa sets Royal Cup conditions

THE organisers of the Royal Cup have to meet stringent conditions set by Zimbabwe Football Association before their tournament can be approved.

Despite launching the Cup on Friday evening, the Royal Cup Trust was yet to meet the conditions and Zifa expressed disquiet that they had gone on to initiate before they meet the set criteria which among others include submitting contracts with teams and handing over the total sponsorship amount to Zifa.

According to correspondence in possession of the Sunday News Sport, Zifa communications manager Xolisani Gwesela wrote to Royal Cup Trust chief executive officer Nkosinathi Ndiweni stating they had set conditions for organisers due to “problems encountered in the past, which have resulted in last minute cancellation of matches and organisers failing to honour their financial obligations”.

Some of the requirements include availing of contracts with teams, submission of agreement with sponsor, total amount to be used in the tourney, detailed budget and inclusion of members of the Zifa Competitions Committee, communications manager and accountant.

Zifa also said the full sponsorship funds should be deposited into the Zifa Trust account and would be accessed to meet specific disbursements according to the budget drawn and the football mother body shall be responsible for the receipting and disbursement of the gate receipts in line with the agreed criteria as well as paying the price money to the participating teams.

Gwesela also said Zifa shall craft the rules and regulations of the tournament.

He said the conditions are “designed to protect interest of all parties involved in the tournament to foster transparency and accountability”.