Zimbabwe side Bosso 90 will return home without kicking a ball after organisers of the Pirates Cup withdrew them after learning of FIFA’s ban on their country.
Bosso 90, a reserve side of Zimbabwe giant’s Highlanders FC, were scheduled to play their first game in the 2022 Pirates Cup on Saturday morning.
However, after FARPost’s enquiry to the the South African Football Association (Safa) and the Zimbabwe Football Association (Zifa), the visitors were withdrawn from the tournament.
Pirates’ administrative officer Floyd Mbele, confirmed that they had since withdrawn the Zimbabwe second tier side.
“It is true Bosso 90 are part of the tournament but have since been reminded of the Zimbabwe suspension by Fifa. We are really sorry for the oversight and have since taken the decision to remove them from the roaster,” Mbele said.
Safa chief executive officer Tebogo Motlhante had earlier confirmed that they had not sanctioned the involvement of a team from their banned neighbours.
Ordinarily, Pirates should have communicated with Safa regarding the invite of a club from outside the country.
“Safa has not sanctioned this and was not involved in anyway. Trying to establish the facts will revert,” Motlhante said in a text message response.
Zifa’s head of communication Xolisani Gwesela also said they were not aware that Bosso 90 had travelled.
“Zifa is not aware that they have travelled,” Gwesela told FARPost.
Kenya and Zimbabwe were both banned from world football by Fifa because of governmental interference in the running of the game in February.
Zimbabwe’s ban came after the country’s government-appointed Sports and Recreation Commission (SRC) suspended the Zifa board for alleged sexual harassment of female referees by technical staff and allegations of fraud within the association.
The Fifa ban means Zimbabwe or any of its affiliates cannot take part in international competitions until the suspension is lifted. Therefore, the participation of Bosso 90 at the Pirates Cup would have been contravention of the ban.
The competition, which kicked off on Friday 15 April, runs until Monday the 18th. It is the first time it is being held since 2019, and has served as a springboard to greater honours for some of the country’s brightest young talents.
After all entries were tallied up, the draw took place on Thursday last week, with the teams divided to 14 groups of four.
The group stage is scheduled to take place across the opening two days of the tournament before the knockout rounds, including the final, take centre stage on the closing day.
