daniel chigunwe
Zimpapers Sports Hub
SEASONED administrator and ZIFA presidential aspirant Martin Kweza feels the local football environment has become too toxic to attract any major investors and sponsors.
He believes the game can only become sustainable when the right systems are in place and people put in influential positions pull in one direction.
Currently the chairman of the Northern Region Soccer League, where he has helped transform dreams into reality by putting in place a vibrant league with several sponsors, Kweza is looking at becoming the next ZIFA president.
ZIFA’s watershed elections will also see the selection of a first woman vice president in the 62-year-old history of the association.
By virtue of being in the NRSL, Kweza was a key figure in the ZIFA constitutional reform process that increased female representation in Congress.
And Kweza believes he should be given the mandate to run the association due to his solid track record, which has seen him leading the only league in the country that rewards its Soccer Star of the Year with a brand-new vehicle.
He said he found the NRSL bedevilled with the same toxicity as the current state of affairs in the local game but man-aged to arrest that.
“We need to create a conducive environment in our football. Our football is currently shrouded in toxicity, and no sponsor wants to be associated with chaos. This is what we are saying we want to get rid of,” said Kweza.
“I have done this before. When I went to the NRSL, the environment was more or less the same or even more toxic than what’s prevailing at the national level right now.
“But we managed to stabilise the ship, and we started to get sponsors. We need to do the same at the national level. We have a solid plan in place that we are religiously going to follow.
“We should work together as a football family to attract sponsors. We have sponsors that want to come to football, including some from outside the country, but the current environment is driving them off. This is what we are out to sort out.
“I am inspired by challenges, and I love challenges myself, and we can do better than what we did with NRSL.” Kweza said transparency and accountability are the key pillars to ensuring sponsors come on board.
“My experience as an administrator gives me the wings, and I am sure we can fix all the problems facing our football right now.
“I want to create an environment that can attract finances for ZIFA, and the key thing is that one must be accountable.
“We will put committees in place to achieve our goals.
“My experience is there for everyone to see. I have been in the game for the past 25 years, starting as a player and getting injured at 21.
“I got into administration at that age at a Second Division side in Masvingo,” added Kweza. “I had the passion, and when I came to Harare in 2007, I helped resuscitate ZINWA from a social league side and ac-tually took it into Division One.
“That’s when I was identified by Solomon Mugavazi, who was the Northern Region Soccer League chairman and Monomotapa FC owner. “He saw the potential in me, and he encouraged me to run for a board member position in the NRSL.
He has not turned back since.
“From there (2009), I was then elected the vice-chair, deputising for the late Willard Manyengavana.” Under Kweza, the NRSL has seen a flurry of sponsors, including Ruyamuro Service Stations and Axis Solutions, com-ing on board.
“During my chairmanship, NRSL has never been the same again. We have attracted a lot of partners and sponsors.
“We managed to attract World Navi from Japan, Ruyamuro, and Axis Solutions, just to mention a few. “We have done it at the regional level, and I am saying we can do more at the national level,’’ he said.
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