ZIMBABWE football has been rocked by yet another scandal following revelations ZIFA signed a contract handing all television rights and ticket revenue from the Warriors' friendly against Brazil to a Switzerland-based sports agency.
The Swiss-company is now threatening legal action after failing to get the money amid revelations funds raised from the game cannot be accounted for.
Suspended ZIFA chief executive, Henrietta Rushwaya, reportedly signed the fateful contract which effectively meant the national association did not benefit financially from the high profile game.
In addition, Zimbabwe paid the Brazilians an appearance fee which was not disclosed but is variously estimated at around US$1 million.
But nearly two months after the game was played, Kentaro Group, the Swiss agency which handles television rights and related issues for Brazil, claims it has not been paid its dues from ticket revenues for the game which is said to have grossed US$650,000.
The company has written to ZIFA threatening to report the association to FIFA, world football’s governing body as well as take legal action to force payment of the money.
In a letter to ZIFA, Kentaro representative Phillip Grothe stated: “The contract states that all revenues generated from the distribution of any TV rights related to the friendly match belong solely to Kentaro as well as all advertising rights except those specifically granted to ZIFA.”
He added: “Furthermore, all ticket revenues generated from the match are to be retained by Kentaro. In this matter we have already asked ZIFA to provide us with information regarding the number of tickets sold in each category and gross revenues generated by their sale. To our discomfort we have not yet received any answer from ZIFA regarding this matter.”
The ZIFA board says it was not responsible for the organisation of the game adding Rushwaya acted on behalf of the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA), which invited the Brazilians.
ZIFA president Cuthbert Dube asked the Swiss company to give the association time to look into the issue.
And in another twist to the saga, ZTA chief executive, Karikoga Kaseke accused the Swiss company of tempering with the initial contract and inserting the clause giving it the rights to ticket and broadcast revenues.
“(The ZTA) brought Brazil here, not ZIFA. Rushwaya had to sign the contract on our behalf because we are not a football body. But she was supposed to sign a contract reflecting everything we had agreed and we were supposed to retain the revenue from the gates,” Kaseke told The Sunday Mail newspaper.
“I can’t understand what Kentaro are now saying, but I believe they altered the contract and inserted that clause.”
The ZTA boss also threatened to cancel another friendly match his organisation was arranging against Ghana.
“Our purpose is really not football, it’s about branding. We don’t do these things for money and we are now seriously considering cancelling the Ghana friendly match on September 8 because of all this,”
The Swiss company had demanded ZIFA respond to their demands by Friday last week but the association has requested that the deadline be extended to August 20.
The association says it is consulting its legal representives over Kentaro’s demands.
Rushwaya, who was suspended following allegations Asian betting syndicates were behind the Warriors trip to Malaysia last December, has not commented on the latest scandal.
Brazil agreed to play the friendly tie as part of their preparations for the FIFA World Cup Finals which were hosted by South Africa.