Online Reporter
Petros Kausiyo
ZIFA Normalisation Committee chairperson Lincoln Mutasa has pleaded for patience from the domestic football community ahead of tomorrow’s defining moment when he will announce the list of candidates for the association’s watershed January 25 elections.
Aspiring ZIFA executive committee members, including those bidding for the presidential position, are by tomorrow afternoon looking to end weeks of anxiety when they know if their nominations would have passed the ethics and integrity acid test.
The ZIFA executive committee is commonly referred to as the board in domestic circles. Mutasa, whose leadership is for purposes of these special elections, and also sits on the ZIFA electoral committee, will name all the candidates for positions of board member, vice presidents and president.
But as Mutasa and his colleagues in the electoral committee — Rosemary Mugadza and Nyasha Sanyamandwe — prepare to wind up what has been a hectic period for them, social media has gone into overdrive, fuelling speculation about tomorrow’s possible outcome.
Camps associated with some aspirants have not helped matters either. Some have even made sensational claims that the Ethics Committee led by respected legal guru Muchadeyi Masunda had been discarded from the ZIFA electoral processes.
It is against this background that Mutasa yesterday preached the gospel of patience and trust in the processes.
“Indeed, it has been a hectic period going through all the paperwork,’’ Mutasa said.
“People should, however, just exercise patience — whether they are candidates or other stakeholders.
“We are proceeding according to the laws prescribed by the ZIFA Congress in terms of the statutes that were adopted on October 18, 2024.
“It is not like we are reinventing the wheel. The statutes are there and are very clear and we urge anyone aspiring to be in the ZIFA leadership to acquaint themselves with the FIFA and ZIFA statutes and the laws of the game. You cannot try to go in and lead something whose operations or environment you are not even aware of.’’
The former Dynamos right-back and chairperson scoffed at claims being made by some who are ignorant of the fact that FIFA are also assisting the Normalisation Committee in concluding the last task of their tenure at ZIFA.
“For these elections, we are the electoral committee and there is nothing wrong with us seeking and getting help from any committee that may be set up to assist us,” he said.
“There is nothing wrong with us getting help from the Ethics Committee because they are the experts in dispensing with matters where there are certain queries, be it with courts cases or convictions, which we were calling on them to help with.
“Even the executive committee that would have been elected into ZIFA would also have to quickly come up with various sub-committees to help them administer football.’’Mutasa indicated that should any parties feel aggrieved about the outcomes from tomorrow’s list of candidates, “they will have to appeal to CAS (Court of Arbitration for Sport).
“We don’t play our game in the High Court; we are going by the FIFA processes which state that in normalisation, all appeals are dealt with by CAS,’’ he said.
Incidentally, former Harare mayor Masunda boasts vast experience in arbitration, including having served on CAS and sources close to the goings-on at ZIFA yesterday noted that those trying to besmirch the Ethics Committee’s involvement “are the guilty ones who know that he cannot be bought’’.
While the build-up to December 23 has been characterised by some tense moments and objections by various football stakeholders, attention is expected to shift to intensified campaigns by those who would have crossed the ethics and integrity hurdle.
Although there are only six slots for those seeking to be board members, the race has been oversubscribed, with up to 38 aspirants — a blend of greenhorns and seasoned campaigners.
A host of former players who include Alois Bunjira, Terrence Malunga, Makwinji Soma-Phiri, Sunday Chidzambwa, Walter Musanhu, Francis Zimunya and Harlington Shereni are among those eyeing seats on the board.
There is also the women quartet of Beulah Musara, Cecelia Gambe, Esther Mawere and Joyce Kapota.
The ex-players duo of Benjani Mwaruwari and Makwinji Soma-Phiri have taken a shot among the big boys, vying for the presidency of the association.
Much of the spotlight ahead of tomorrow’s announcement by Mutasa has been on the presidential race, with the public also joining in the fray by raising objections against the candidature of Twine Phiri, Temba Mliswa, Nqobile Magwizi, Martin Kweza, Philemon Machana, Walter Magaya and Farai Jere.
Among the key areas that FIFA are concerned about in this election is that candidates with a questionable past or who are deemed to have transgressed the ZIFA Code of Ethics are not fit to hold posts in national associations.
But after all has been said and done, Mutasa’s document with the list of candidates will be the most sought-after paper tomorrow.
