adminBothwell Mahlengwe
IN life, there comes a time when you have to make difficult decisions, decisions that will live with you for the rest of your life.
This is the situation that Zifa councillors have tomorrow. We have men and women on whom the life, or death, of our football, depends on their vote.
A group of men and women has to choose one man, among the four available, who has the biggest task of saving our football from the doldrums we find ourselves in.
Our football is at its lowest — crippling debt, weak management systems, non-existent junior development, lack of accountability and transparency and the absence of leadership.
After going through the manifestos of the candidates, I came to understand the dilemma that our councillors find themselves in.
Flowery by their nature, all their manifestos promise heaven here on earth. However, regardless of this dilemma, one has to make a decision.
Of the four candidates, the one I would dismiss with ease is Cuthbert Dube. This is one man who has done more damage than good to our football. After four years in charge at Zifa House, we find ourselves at our worst.
He has been the best example of how not to run football. To re-elect him, will be the greatest betrayal. I respect him as a person but, as Zifa boss, it’s a BIG NO.
He says, “I want to finish what I started.” I have tried to look at just one thing that he started, I haven’t found one worth continuing. Instead, his mantra should have been, “let me clean my mess.”
However, there is a something special about this man.
He is one of the few who have managed to snub Parliament without any repercussions befalling him.
He wasn’t there at the stadiums when football or the Warriors needed his presence and he wasn’t there at Parliament when the lawmakers wanted his answers yesterday.
A few hours later he was addressing his press conference at his home. If this isn’t a classic example of snubbing the legislature, I don’t know another better example.
When I looked at Trevor Carlese-Juul’s manifesto and curriculum vitae, I was tempted to say this is our man.
Unfortunately, he reminds me of how I felt about Cuthbert Dube four years ago.
A man with an impeccable history, a past with tangible achievements, albeit in his trade as an architect and businessman.
Unfortunately, like Dube, his ingenuity in property development doesn’t necessarily mean ingenuity in football leadership.
Messi is a soccer genius but imagine how awful he would be at Maths. I then looked at the years he has been “practically divorced” from our situation, and I was quick to dismiss him.
Just imagine the time he will need to get to understand the level of trouble our football is in. At least four years, maybe. And, by then, there will be no football to talk about.
He has been to see the Finance Minister, an old colleague I presume. But with the challenges the economy is facing, funding sport, football in particular, would be among the least of any government’s priorities.
His manifesto, and his intentions are noble but I found them out of touch with the current state of our country and football in particular.
Two decades ago, yes, he might have been the ‘biblical David’ but now I feel he hasn’t gotten to grips with the ‘Goliath’ he is facing.
I think Dube and Juul can still make a big contribution to our football though. With the financial muscle they have, and the passion they claim to have for football, they should have a place among the sponsors, not leaders, of the game.
This leaves me with two candidates — Leslie Gwindi and Nigel Munyati — two men whose passion and love for football is without question.
The good thing about these two is that they are just simple people like most of the football fans. They are not wealthy like Dube and Juul but I presume they are comfortable.
That’s one attribute I am looking for from the new Zifa boss, one person who can’t finance the association from his own pocket. It compromises corporate governance. I am looking at a person who would be forced to think outside the box and find suitors to go to bed with Zifa in this economic environment.
One person who knows how it feels to part with a dollar.
These two fit in.
Unfortunately, I have to pick one. Both men have their strengths and weaknesses. If there was an option of having co-Presidents then I would give it a go with Gwindi and Munyati.
Leslie is fiery and direct in his approach. His outbursts have been his biggest let-down. He has been in and out of football but has managed to fight his way back. His never-die character is an added advantage.
He is one person that I believe would be able to whip the wayward bootlicking Zifa secretariat into line. He seems like a no-nonsense guy — one who would fire his own brother if he has to.
Munyati, on the other hand, is modest, one person who will do his job quietly but thorough. His work at Aces Youth Soccer Academy is testimony which is a big plus to his CV.
He has been in football for a very long time with tangible achievements you wouldn’t get to know unless you read his CV.
He has relationships in the corporate world as well as in the political sector judging from the positions he has held along his football journey.
Gwindi’s main weakness is his relationship with sponsors. His outbursts know no boundaries. His abilities to forge and maintain relationships are questionable.
His relationship with the country’s main football, sponsors, Delta Beverages needs mending.
If it was to be as my will, he will have a place in the board as a Committee member.
Nigel’s main weakness stem from being part of Dube’s team, a team that failed dismally. However, it can also work to his advantage.
He is the only one who has full knowledge of the extent of the problems bedevilling our beautiful game.
Of all the candidates, his solutions seem more feasible. A case in point is the kitting of the national teams and creation of revenue streams from the sale of replicas thereof.
Everybody wants to be associated with their national team and donning the replica jersey is everyone’s dream and pride.
That’s an area where Zifa can easily make the masses part with their hard-earned money.
In short, forced to choose, Nigel Munyati is my man. And, I’m sure, the following young men who have been groomed in his Aces Youth Soccer Academy will agree with me and, if they were councillors, would vote for him.
Aces Youth Soccer Academy Graduates
SURNAME FIRST NAME CLUB
INTERNATIONAL
1Musona Knowledge TSG 1899 Hoffenheim (Germany)/Kaizer Chiefs
2 Amidu Abbas Mpumalanga Black Leopards (South Africa)
3 Billiat Khama Ajax Cape Town (South Africa)
4 Zvasiya Lincoln Kaizer Chiefs (South Africa)
5 Mapfumo Brain Township Rollers (Botswana)
6 Nyandoro Daryl TP Mazembe (DRC)
7 Songani Silas Soenderjyske (Denmark)
ZIMBABWE PREMIER SOCCER LEAGUE
1 Kaisa Luckson Black Mambas
2 Nyahunzvi Ben Black Mambas
3 Chimutimunzveve Honey Black Mambas
4 Chinungo Tendai Black Mambas
5 Maglas Benson CAPS United
6 Dhuwa Collins CAPS United
7 Gonzo Terrence CAPS United
8 Chigova George Dynamos
9 Sadiki Takunda Highlanders
10 Silinda Emmanuel How Mine
11 Chipeta Eric Hwange
12 Meson Nelson Monomotapa Utd
13 Masumbiko Hamilton Monomotapa Utd
14 Rhappozzoh Elenmore Monomotapa Utd
15 Katsvairo Michelle FC Platinum
16 Musona Walter FC Platinum
17 Mutasa Wisdom FC Platinum
18 Mandiranga Emmanuel How Mine
19 Bernard Donovan How Mine
20 Dhlelewa Tinashe CAPS United
21 Kabanda Tinashe Shabanie Mine
22 Chikanda Ben Shabanie Mine
23 Mudzengerere Bret Shabanie Mine
24 Amidu Bret Dynamos
25 Mukahlera Tafadzwa Green Buffaloes
26 Duri Derby Green Buffaloes
27 Chinembeza Munashe CAPS United
Bothwell Mahlengwe is a banker and former Premiership footballer. He can be contacted, for feedback, on: [email protected]
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