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THERE was huge relief this week when FIFA announced the lifting of Zimbabwe’s suspension from international football.
The world football body also announced the appointment of a normalisation committee to steer the course of the urgently needed reforms within the corridors of the domestic football organisation.
This week’s development was long overdue for Zimbabwean football, which desperately needed a fresh start.
The situation at ZIFA had become untenable because of the deep-seated corruption and the blatant lack of good corporate governance.
ZIFA was virtually rendered dysfunctional; a haven of thieves and crooks and this was a culmination of several years of impunity as the successive ZIFA administrations got away with heinous offences, away from public scrutiny under the cover that FIFA does not allow ‘third party interference.’
But credit to the Government’s efforts to dismantle the football cartels through the untiring energies exerted by the Sports and Recreation Commission and the Ministry of Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation, fronted by Honourable Kirsty Coventry.
Of course, as a nation we had to endure the pain that came with the suspension from international football by FIFA, as a result of the interventions by the authorities.
But the ending was far more glorious.
The recent developments leading to Zimbabwe’s reinstatement to the international football family actually gave the country the opportunity to start afresh.
This is because ZIFA had become rotten to the core and needed a complete reboot. There was no other way Zimbabwean football was going to transform unless the whole system was dismantled.
So, it was necessary that the nation had to endure the pain of FIFA isolation. It was not easy. During those 17 months that Zimbabwean football was out in the cold, players and officials missed out on opportunities for development and the fans were starved of international football.
The players were the most disadvantaged and their pain was understandable.
The young and upcoming players missed age-group football tournaments and they will never get the chance again.
Those ripe enough could have enhanced their value by adding national team caps while others could have been identified by international scouts and possibly landed lucrative contracts abroad. But that is now all history.
They were unfortunately caught up in the efforts to clean up the game. But all is not doom and gloom after all. FIFA have given Zimbabwe the chance to start afresh.
Just as the Sports Commission chairman Gerald Mlotshwa pointed out, never again should our football become a victim of unscrupulous administrators and societal miscreants, who are driven by self-centredness and egotism as has been the case over the years.
The nation should look forward to the growth of the game without hindrance and to the future prospects of competing in international football events with confidence.
The appointment of the normalisation committee was just the start. Zimbabwean football has a long way to go before it gets back firmly on its feet.
The committee led by Lincoln Mutasa has generally been welcomed by the football fraternity. Mutasa, a former Dynamos player and chairman in the early 1980s, leads the four-member committee that also has former Mighty Warriors defender and coach Rosemary Mugadza, ex-Highlanders defender Sikhumbuzo Ndebele and legal practitioner Nyasha Tashinga Sanyamandwe.
Their mandate is simply to build the foundation for a new ZIFA administration, manage Zimbabwean football in the interim and help pave the way for ZIFA elections. Hopefully, they will succeed in that direction.
It is important that this committee walk the straight line. It is important that they work hand in hand with the current ZIFA secretariat so that there is continuity. Of course, bad apples, if positively identified, should be weeded out.
There is no longer room for corrupt people in our football.
The normalisation committee should be given room to do its job, with support coming from all Zimbabweans, if football is to succeed.
Right now the 2026 World Cup draw has been conducted and focus should also be given to the upcoming qualifying games, while the other administrative ills are being sorted.
After seeing the dark side of corruption and mismanagement as demonstrated by the various ZIFA executives, the normalisation committee should set an example by walking the straight and narrow way. After all, 12 months is as short as it is a fair time frame to attend to the football administration crisis.
Online Reporter