daniel chigunwe
Petros Kausiyo
AMID the flurry of campaign trails and manifestos being brandished by more than 40 candidates vying for vacancies in the ZIFA executive committee, a wave of excitement is also sweeping through the new-look electoral college that is dominated by debutants.
Previous ZIFA councillors had their reputations tainted by damning allegations of corruption, especially with controversy rocking Felton Kamambo’s ascendency in the 2018 elections.
Although Kamambo was cleared by the courts late last year, the damage to the image of the Congress and reputation of its councillors had long extended beyond the ZIFA boardroom.
It even spilled into the corridors of the Sports and Recreation Commission (SRC), CAF and FIFA.
Seven years on, as ZIFA emerge from a difficult period, the composition of the Congress has changed.
In the transitional period from the Kamambo era, FIFA appointed a Normalisation Committee to run the affairs of ZIFA, with the world football governing body setting aside some of the association’s constitutional provisions, including extending the term of Congress in order to expedite the reform process.
Although Lincoln Mutasa’s Normalisation Committee, also sitting as the Electoral Committee at the behest of FIFA, will confirm the final delegate list by January 15, Zimpapers Sports Hub has since established that, unlike in the past, first-time voters dominate the line-up of the 78 councillors who are set to cast their ballots.
Just as the incoming executive committee has been expanded to 11 members from the previous seven, the size of the delegates — also known as the voters or councillors — has been enlarged from 62 to 78.
The wave of excitement sweeping across the new delegates has been largely felt among the female councillors, who were among the biggest beneficiaries of the amendments to the ZIFA constitution, which was adopted at an annual meeting on October 18 last year.
Zimbabwe Women’s Soccer League chairperson Theresa Maguraushe confirmed the excitement and anticipation among her constituency.
Maguraushe also paid tribute to FIFA and the SRC for spearheading the ZIFA reforms that brought about a dramatic rise in the number of women delegates, who will be eligible to vote in the association’s next leadership in 20 days, from the previous five to 21.
“We are no doubt very excited as women about this upcoming election and I would like to thank FIFA for starting the ball rolling in 2016, when they introduced reforms aimed at introducing more women representation in football across the world.
“In our case, there is a lot of excitement for both old and new clubs who are in the PSL,’’ Maguraushe said.
“She also enthused over the election of a female vice president at ZIFA and the improved levels of compliance by the clubs in her 16-team league in terms of turning professional, including registering players on FIFA Connect via the association’s secretariat.
“Unlike in the past, I am happy that there is a lot of compliance to the rules and regulations, the constitution and generally all the requirements to make our league better,” she said.
“Those who participated in the new ZIFA constitution must be applauded for allowing more women representation . . . For the first time, there will be a woman vice president and two more will be board members.
“In the past, it was always just one who would be the league’s chairperson, but what we are going to have after the elections will automatically benefit the girl child.
“There is also a lot of excitement among all the 16 clubs at the feeling of just going to be voting in these elections, and we have hardly had any Christmas break as candidates have been requesting to meet with us and sell their vision.
“In previous elections, we only had five women voting but now it is going to be 21, which is a significant number.”
Maguraushe might as well have been speaking for delegates in easily ZIFA’s single biggest member — the Premier Soccer League — which will provide 19 voters, including a representative of the secretariat.
The inclusion of fresh faces on the voting panel, including chairpersons of top clubs like Dynamos, Highlanders, FC Platinum, Ngezi Platinum, Bikita Minerals, GreenFuel, champions Simba Bhora, TelOne, newboys Kwekwe United, Scottland and ZPC Hwange, has added a new and interesting dimension, as most of them are untainted by the corruption allegations that had been haunting the ZIFA Congress.
This also means the old guard — largely made up of those in the provinces, area zones and the regions — will not easily have it their way.
“If, in the past, ZIFA councillors were branded a bunch of corrupt men and women without any iota of professionalism, all that has now been diluted by the big presence of new delegates with professional backgrounds and have their reputations to protect.
“So, it is not going to be business as usual in this election,’’ noted one of the councillors, who chose to remain anonymous.
The Electoral Committee is expected to confirm identities of the delegates on January 15.
But the Electoral Committee is this morning expected to meet to discuss, among other administrative matters, the appeals that have been launched by some of the disqualified executive committee aspirants.
ZIFA ELECTORAL COLLEGE 2025
Below is the composition of affiliate members of the 78 delegates who will vote on January 25.
1. Board member — Southern Region
Soccer League
2. Board member — Southern Region
Soccer League
3. Board member — Southern Region
Soccer League
4. Board member — Southern Region
Soccer League
5. Board member — Women Southern
Region Soccer League
6. Chairperson — Southern Region
Area Zone
7. Board member — Northern Region
Soccer League
8. Board member — Northern Region
Soccer League
9. Board member — Northern Region
Soccer League
10. Board member — Northern Region
Soccer League
11. Board member — Women Northern
Region Soccer League
12. Chairperson — Northern Region
Area Zone
13. Board member — Eastern Region
Soccer League
14. Board member — Eastern Region
Soccer League
15. Board member — Eastern Region
Soccer League
16. Board member — Eastern Region
Soccer League
17. Board member — Women Eastern
Region Soccer League
18. Chairperson — Eastern Region
Soccer League
19. Board member — Central Region
Soccer League
20. Board member — Central Region
Soccer League
21. Board member — Central Region
Soccer League
22. Board member — Central Region
Soccer League
23. Board member — Women Central
Region Soccer League
24. Chairperson — Central Region
Soccer League
25. Chairperson — NAPH
26. Executive member — NAPH
27. Chairperson — NASH
28. Executive member — NASH
29. Chairperson — Tertiary
30. Executive member — Tertiary
31. Chairperson — Futsal 2025
32. Chairperson — Beach Football
33. Chairperson — PSL Men
34. Chairperson — PSL Women
35. Chairperson — Bikita Minerals
36. Chairperson — CAPS United
37. Chairperson — Chicken Inn
38. Chairperson — Dynamos FC
39. Chairperson — FC Platinum
40. Chairperson — Green Fuel
41. Chairperson — Herentals College
42. Chairperson — Highlanders FC
43. Chairperson — Kwekwe United
44. Chairperson — Manica Diamonds
45. Chairperson — Ngezi Platinum
46. Chairperson — Scottland
47. Chairperson — Simba Bhora
48. Chairperson — TelOne
49. Chairperson — Triangle
50. Chairperson — Yadah
51. Chairperson — PC Hwange
52. Chairperson — ZPC Kariba
53. Chairperson — Black Mambas
Queens
54. Chairperson — Black Rhinos Queens
55. Chairperson — Chapungu Queens
56. Chairperson — Conduit Soccer
Academy
57. Chairperson — Correctional Queens
58. Chairperson — Faith Drive
59. Chairperson — Harare City Queens
60. Chairperson — Herentals Queens
61. Chairperson — Highlanders Royals
62. Chairperson — Hope Academy
63. Chairperson — Maningi YSA
64. Chairperson — MSU Queens
65. Chairperson — Mutare City Queens
66. Chairperson — Platinum Royals
67. Chairperson — Sheasham Gweru
Queens
68. Chairperson — ZRP Harare Queens
69. Chairperson — Bulawayo province
70. Chairperson — Harare province
71. Chairperson — Manicaland province
72. Chairperson — Mashonaland
Central province
73. Chairperson — Mashonaland East
province
74. Chairperson — Mashonaland West
province
75. Chairperson — Masvingo province
76. Chairperson — Matabeleland North
province
77. Chairperson — Matabeleland South
province
78. Chairperson — Midlands
province
