Mushonga ready for the ZIFA big stage

Tadious Manyepo-Zimpapers Sports Hub

FOR Sweeney Mushonga, nothing beats experience, dedication, and passion. 

These are the ingredients that the seasoned Northern Region Soccer League administrator wants to take with him into the next ZIFA executive committee. 

Elections to choose new leadership for ZIFA are scheduled for Harare on January 25, and Mushonga is among the candidates vying for the six ordinary member (board member) slots that are up for grabs. 

Easily the most prominent and one of the most experienced faces among the 36 candidates seeking board positions, Mushonga has also seen it all, having also previously owned a top-flight side — the 2009 Premiership champions, Gunners. 

He has been a key player in the transformation of the NRSL into the best and most competitive of the country’s four regions. 

“ZIFA has been broken for years and rife with controversies, which later led to its suspension by FIFA from international football after attempts by the SRC to right many of these wrongs were perceived as third-party interference. 

“Successive executive committees at ZIFA have failed to foster a sense of unity of purpose within ZIFA, as the members of ZIFA have remained disjointed, with each pulling in its own direction. 

“Successive administrations of ZIFA once again failed to align the activities of the institution to its main purpose, which is developing and promoting football; hence we have a ZIFA whose outcomes are contrary to its purpose, as there is very little development of football to talk about,’’ Mushonga says.

It is against this background that Mushonga feels it is time administrators like him stepped up to the plate and directed operations from within the boardroom. 

“As much as the constitution allows the members of ZIFA to act independently, the centre has abrogated its responsibility to have an oversight role on their respective activities. 

“I am very cognisant of the challenges bedevilling ZIFA, and I am more than convinced that I am up to the task of helping improve and develop ZIFA in line with modern trends in my capacity as a ZIFA board member. 

“I know what is at stake having gained the necessary experience and knowledge as a Founding Director at Gunners Football Club and my subsequent elevation to be a board member of the Northern Region Soccer League. 

“My involvement at Gunners Football exposed me to the vagaries of the harsh operating environment. The operational costs of running a club are not matched by the limited revenue collected, mostly from gate takings. The other income streams are non-existent. 

“Player welfare has not been a priority to ZIFA and hence at the respective clubs, as there are no meaningful initiatives taken to protect the physical and mental health of players. 

“It obviously becomes a fallacy to talk about player welfare after retirement. 

“There are no strategies in place to ensure that the obtaining infrastructure is maintained or improved in line with best practice, hence a multitude of people shun attending matches, obviously among other reasons. 

“Junior league structures were abandoned, and there hasn’t been any meaningful career pathway in line with the needs and aspirations of upcoming talent.

He also preaches unity of purpose in his manifesto. 

“To a greater extent, my time at the Northern Region Soccer League has given me the courage and conviction that if the centre pulls together, Zimbabwean football can be improved for the greater good for all.

“From the foregoing it is apparent that ZIFA has to focus on its governance and operational structures with a view to addressing the current problems with the primary aim that such problems should not recur ever again. 

“As part of the reforms at ZIFA, I participated in the Constitutional Review Process with the aim of aligning the ZIFA Constitution with FIFA and the other member affiliates, and in the process, we came up with a concrete document equipped to carry the organisation forward and which facilitated the increase of women’s participation in the administration of football, which gives them space to tell their story. 

“As part of the new board, if elected, I will ensure that we uphold the constitution and cause for its review, where necessary. 

“I have acquired the necessary experience by being a board member at the Northern Region Soccer League, wherein, as part of my duties and responsibilities, we offered oversight on the day-to-day functions of NRSL in accordance with best practices of good governance. 

“Furthermore, during our tenure in office, we managed to secure league sponsorship, which included prize money for monthly and end-of-year awards, with the Soccer Star of the Year receiving a motor vehicle. 

“I am thoroughly convinced that ZIFA requires somebody on the board with precisely my kind of experience and expertise, someone who knows exactly what ought to be done right from day one. 

“I am conversant with the responsibilities that lie ahead once elected, and we should never be distracted in our mission of promoting and developing football within the country and beyond. This appointment confers a duty to act responsibly, which fully suits my person and character.

Mushonga insists that the incoming executive should, unlike their predecessors, give a chance to the ZIFA chief executive officer and the secretariat to handle the daily administration of the national game.

“As part of the board, again, once elected, we will ensure that we keep to our lane and allow our secretariat to operate without any hindrances. 

“We will ensure that this principle is firmly embedded within the entire organisation by clearly defining and demarcating the competencies of each respective arm of ZIFA.

“This will act as safeguards in instances of conflicts of interest and in the process ensure that decisions are free from any personal or selfish influences. 

“The entire design of my import is to ensure that ZIFA improves on its operational efficiencies by promoting engagements with its entire membership working through set committees and ensuring that members are fully involved in the decision-making process, on the bedrock of clear frameworks and policies commensurate with all credible institutions. 

“ZIFA must once again become an organisation that we can all be proud of, a credible, trusted, and transparent governing body developing football in the entire country.