December 4 – The conduct of Zimbabwean football boss Philip Chiyangwa (pictured), an ally of FIFA president Gianni Infantino, has been called into question in his own country amid allegations of corruption.
Zimbabwe’s Anti-Corruption Commission (Zaac) has been asked to investigate claims of “corruption, fraud, misappropriation, abuse of power, misconduct and lack of good corporate governance” during his tenure as head of the national federation (ZIFA).
The request has been made by ZIFA’s former accountant Fabian Venganayi who alleges Chiyangwa has been engaging in “corrupt and fraudulent disposal of ZIFA assets.” He is also accused of using dirty tricks to win the elections that ushered him into office in December 2015.
Chiyangwa was a key figure in the election campaign earlier this year of Confederation of African Football president Ahmad Ahmad. Unconfirmed reports said that in the build-up to Ahmad’s stunning victory over Issa Hayatou, Infantino personally attended a party hosted by the flamboyant and ambitious Chiyangwa who boasted of his closeness to overthrown Zimbabwe president Robert Mugabe.
Infantino, who reportedly at one time described Zimbabwe’s Chiyangwa as “my friend and brother”, has denied any complicity whatsoever in the CAF ballot that swept Ahmad into power.
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