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THE Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) and the National Athletics Association of Zimbabwe (NAAZ) are key institutions in the country’s sporting fraternity with mass participation in all sectors from juniors to seniors.
Football is the country’s number one sport by popularity while athletics ranks highly in the pecking order and thus the well-being of their national associations has a bearing on the careers of players and athletes.
That such big global institutions like the International Olympic Committee (IOC) place the welfare and protection of athletes at the summit of their operations and priorities, underscores the importance of that constituency in any sporting organisation.
Thus ZIFA, NAAZ and the 52 other associations registered with the Sports and Recreation Commission should not be any different.
Critically for NAAZ and ZIFA, they are facing elections to choose a new national leadership this year and at the start of 2025.
We therefore call on the two associations to adhere to and respect their statutes and use constitutionalism as the guiding principle.
When an association has a solid constitution, it ensures that the institution operates within a set system and this also allows administrators to come in and go without unnecessary fights.
The fact that the constitutions are registered with and approved by the Sports Commission in terms of Section 29 of the Sport and Recreation Act (Chapter 25.15) also allows the Government to have an oversight role on the national associations through the SRC.
There have been murmurs of discontent within NAAZ ahead of today’s confirmation of candidates for their elections.
We, however, believe that the process should not have any glitches or contestations as NAAZ are operating on a new constitution that came into effect in 2022 after being duly registered and approved by the SRC on November 30 of the same year.
Any qualms, as is largely anticipated in any form of elections, where one is bound to find some aggrieved parties, should be effectively addressed through strict adherence with the tenets of the constitutions.
A constitution that passes the test should not be bent on serving individuals or a cartel of people and thus any eligible member should be able to operate within the association’s system as long as there are transparent and yet water-tight systems that are not subject to manipulation.
We hope that instead of being broken down because of an elective assembly, NAAZ will emerge stronger from their elections.
The Zimbabwe Chess Federation (ZCF) also faces an elective congress next month and a lot hinges on respecting the constitution first.
Although they have a huge potential of being divisive in nature, elections can be used as a strong tool for an institution to regenerate and those in charge of athletics and those who form the electoral college should focus on the positives and can achieve the rejuvenation if they use the constitution as their Bible.
The deficiencies in their constitution as pointed out by both the returning officer Thabani Gonye and legal experts, were one of the low points that nearly blighted the Zimbabwe Rugby Union elections in May.
We hope and trust that the new board led by Losson Mtongwiza is working on reviewing their statutes and ensuring that the ZRU do not face similar challenges when the next election cycle comes.
Similarly, and as reported elsewhere in this publication, ZIFA are facing an election for a substantive board in January next year.
The ZIFA Congress, with the aid of FIFA and the Confederation of African Football met in Harare to adopt amendments to their 2013 constitution that had been rendered archaic in view of the growth and developments in the global game.
It is now incumbent upon the councillors to uphold the letter and spirit of the constitution they adopted to ensure a successful election that makes them proud of being policy makers at ZIFA.
Abiding by the statutes and respecting constitutionalism especially in football will help rebuild the image of the country’s biggest sport that has suffered huge battering over the years.
There is a strong belief that stability in such big disciplines will have a rub-on-effect on other sporting associations and that starts with having respect for what the rules and regulations state.
In the ZIFA case, the approval of their constitution by FIFA yesterday was a major step in showing the world controlling football body of the local administrators’ commitment to addressing some of the key problems which had been sighted as hindering the growth of the game in the country.
It also means that should the trend of respecting and sticking to constitutionalism continue, the dark days of enduring a FIFA suspension from the international football family will not revisit these shores.
Instead, it should spur more confidence in the association and subsequently help attract more corporate partners for the Warriors, the Mighty Warriors and the junior national teams.
The Warriors stand on the threshold of qualifying for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations and only a healthy and stable ZIFA can help them cross the line.
A number of athletes both locally and foreign based are eyeing places at the 2025 World Championships in Tokyo, Japan and only a stable NAAZ can provide the platform for such runners like Isaac Mpofu, Fortunate Chidzivo and Moses Tarakinyu to thrive.
Online Reporter