mbulelo smpofu
Lovemore Dube
CANDIDATES vying for positions in the 25 January Zifa Board elections will be confirmed on Monday.
11 December was the final day for submissions and over 60 candidates sent their resumes for consideration by the Much Masunda-led Zifa Integrity and Ethics Committee, which is working with the Zifa Normalisation Committee.
Fifa, the international football mother-body gave Zimbabwe up to January to be done with putting in place a substantive Zifa board to run Zimbabwe football.
Zimbabwe has not had a substantive leadership in the game following the suspension and ultimate sacking of the Felton Kamambo-led board in April of 2022.
Gift Banda who had been made interim president ran the show up to July 2023 with Fifa coming in with a Normalisation Committee led by Lincoln Mutasa.
Other members of the NC, which was put in place on July 11 last year were Sikhumbuzo Ndebele, Cynthia Malaba, Nyasha Samanyandwe and Rose Mugadza.
But Ndebele and Malaba had their contracts not renewed when Fifa extended the NC’s tenure giving the interim structure up to January next year to be done with board elections.
Ndebele’s brief tenure had been concluded as he managed under technical to put in place a head of coach education and Zifa technical director.
Malaba too set up the financial systems and oversaw the engagement of a finance manager.
The three remaining members’ contracts will end next year after the elections, which will usher in a new board. Monday has been set as the date on which the integrity committee that has been busy verifying information sent by candidates will announce those that made it through its exercise.
They are expected to verify facts, including educational and other information claims made by candidates, which includes contacting education boards and obtaining police clearance.
Candidates must have been resident in the country for two years and been involved in football for five years in the last 10 years.
The exercise has, however, had its own sideshows with one candidate for the vice presidency, Gift Banda, accused of falsifying his O-level certificates. He has since appeared in court and is out on bail.
Nqobile Magwizi, Themba Mliswa, Martin Kweza, Twine Phiri, Philemon Machana and Walter Magwizi have in the last week had people turning up at Zifa and the Sport and Recreation Commission with letters of objection over their candidacy.
The stunts have drawn mixed reactions.
But come January 25 of next year, a substantive board led by a president and two deputies one a female, Premier Soccer League chairman, Women’s Soccer and six board members should be running Zimbabwe football.
There are no clear-cut favourites.
Football is crying out for a fresh start. There has been no peace since 2003 with fights, suspensions and bans being the order of the day against those perceived to have different opinions.
Perhaps for a change football will not go to the highest bidder but men and women prepared to be the nation’s servants.
daniel chigunwe
