A WEEK after Belgian national Tom Saintfiet was recommended to be the new Zimbabwe national team coach, he still has not been confirmed by the Zifa board.
The board meets on Friday to deliberate on his fate with officials hopelessly divided.
Zifa president Cuthbert Dube stalled Saintfiet’s appointment last weekend after insisting that the job should go to caretaker coach Norman Mapeza.
The Belgian arrived in the country on Monday and met with Dube, though briefly for 20 minutes on Tuesday and Wednesday, and said his future was still not clear.
A Zifa technical committee had recommended Saintfiet for the job and issued a statement last weekend in which they spelled out their support for him.
The committee said: "We looked for somebody who could lead us to the Africa Cup of Nations in 2012 and World Cup in 2014. We looked for somebody who could also assist our local coaches to be future world class coaches.
"We looked for the best candidate for the job, one who we could trust with our most valuable asset for the coming four years and possibly beyond.
"The candidate is Tom Saintfiet from Belgium, he meets the above mentioned attributes and qualifications and has very strong connections around the globe.”
But Dube froze the appointment, insisting the committee had merely made a “recommendation” which could be rejected.
“As the president, I have the final word and that decision will have to be changed. We will soon announce the national team coach and I can assure the nation that we won’t be getting the Belgian coach,” Dube said on Sunday.
That unilateral statement seems to have divided his board and Friday’s meeting is expected to bring closure to the case.
The Warriors play Cape Verde Islands on October 10 in a 2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier.
In Namibia, reports says Sainfiet has two years to go on his contract and the football association there is not thought to be interested in compensation.