By FELIX MALUNGA –
AS the race to Football House hots up, Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) treasurer, Kelvin Mutafu has come out with guns blazing claiming that Zambia lost the Nike kit deal because of alleged corruption.
Mutafu, who is seeking to defend his post at next year’s FAZ elections, also charged that there was a syndicate of ticket sales after the association allegedly blocked Vane Technologies and Shoprite from doing computerised tickets for the association.
In a posting on his WhatsApp group ‘Mutafu 4 2016 FAZ Treasurer’ on Wednesday, the former Forest Rangers chairperson said the Chipolopolo were initially the only African team dressed by Nike but that the deal was lost due to alleged corruption.
He charged that Zambia fell out with Nike after FAZ allegedly allowed an individual to reproduce the jerseys in China.
“We lost the Nike deal because of allowing one individual to reproduce the kit from China of which sales were being shared among individuals. As a result, we have no kit supplier. Nike was the best deal. We were the only African team dressed by Nike and to lose it because of corruption pains. Let’s wake up gentlemen and call a spade a spade not a big spoon,” Mutafu wrote.
FAZ  ended the partnership in August last year with United States’ kit sponsors, Nike, which started in 2004, However, the national teams are still using Nike equipment until a new dresser is found.
Mutafu also alleged that currently, there was a huge syndicate of tickets within the association after blocking Vane Technologies and Shoprite who were earmarked to be doing computickets for Football House.
He said he had concluded discussions with Vane and Shoprite on the handling of e-tickets sales.
Mutafu charged that FAZ had continued making losses from ticket sales because the match tickets for international games were being brought into the country by some individuals.
The FAZ treasurer stated that because of his stance against the current status quo, the association removed him as chairperson for the match organising committee (MOC).
“We have continued to make losses as tickets can’t reconcile as the huge part go in wrong hands at the expense of the association. This move which I have been fighting led to my being removed as MOC chairperson,” he said.
Mutafu also claimed that early last year, he attempted to share part of the MTN Zambia league sponsorship money with lower division clubs but that he faced a lot of resistance from certain circles within the FAZ executive.
He charged that according to his investigations, he discovered that it was a deliberate ploy to make lower division teams financially unsustainable so that some people could continue donating cheap footballs and jerseys to gain popularity among the struggling clubs.
Mutafu proposed that next season he would fight hard to ensure the league sponsorship money trickled down to teams in the lower divisions as long as he remained FAZ treasurer.
He also said at the last FAZ annual general meeting, he reversed an attempt to allocate K220,000 for the purchase of replica jerseys because the association had never made any profits from such sales and that the money raised only benefited a few selfish individuals.
The FAZ treasurer said he instead decided to channel the amount towards real beneficiaries, women football but that the move created tension between him and some officials within the executive whom he blocked from syphoning funds from the association.
Mutafu appealed to the FAZ councillors to be focused and decline any corruption attempts from officials in the association.