admin
Zifa president Cuthbert Dube has divided opinion over his leadership of the football mother body. Under his watch, the sport has gone downhill. Zimbabwe has slipped in Fifa rankings while last year, the country suffered the humiliation of failing to qualify for African Cup of Nations finals held in Equatorial Guinea at the first hurdle.
While previous teams have failed to qualify, they put up spirited fights which saw Zimbabwe being respected as a continental power house. But under the current Zifa executive, we are now a below average football playing nation.
Zimbabwe is on the verge of being thrown out of the Fifa World Cup 2018 qualifiers without kicking a ball. The bungling Zifa executive needs to raise $81,000 before May 31 to pay former national coach Brazilian Jose Claudinei Georgini, popularly known as Valinhos, for breach of contract.
Unless the government intervenes, it’s highly unlikely Zifa will raise this money.
Zifa is now so debt-ridden that if the state of affairs continues, the organisation might be declared bankrupt and liquidated.
While Zifa owed money to service providers before Dube and company assumed the presidency, most of the $7 million debt mounted under his stewardship.
Pressure has been mounting on Dube to go before he causes further damage to the country’s football. The government at one time, through Deputy Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture Thabeth Kanengoni-Malinga, indicated that they were prepared to risk the wrath of Fifa by disbanding the Dube-led executive because of its ineptitude.
Kanengoni-Malinga’s threats found resonance with long suffering soccer followers in the country before her boss, Minister Andrew Langa, waded in and said Dube was not going anywhere.
Now, it appears that Zifa councillors have woken up and realised that Zimbabwean football needed to be saved from Dube.
At an Extra-ordinary General Meeting, which Dube tried to block, councillors revoked the president’s mandate and that of two other board members John Phiri and Tawengwa Hara.
The councillors used article 22 sub-sections (m) to justify their action.
Dube and others recalled from office, if they value democracy, must respect the wishes of the councillors.
Fifa should also avoid the temptation to take sides in internal football matters and accept the decision by the councillors.
With Fifa presidential elections on the way, there is a danger that Fifa might intervene to ensure that those that will vote for the sitting president are in charge when elections are held.
Fifa itself has admitted that all is not well in the country’s soccer administration. We hope that the action by the councillors is the first step to rehabilitating the damaged image of football.
Zimbabweans have been patient for long as they watched the country’s football go down an abyss. Now is the time for the country to regain its status as a football powerhouse.
Online Reporter