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FOR so many years, the Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) have been blamed for not having both the will and wherewithal to take the country’s biggest sporting game as the big global industry that it has been.
The world over, football has evolved into a billion-dollar industry that has transformed players into millionaires, changed the lives of coaches, administrators and even the communities where clubs operate.
Sadly, for Zimbabwe, the sport has been lagging behind with successive ZIFA executive committees failing to come up with strategies that match the commercialisation that has become the hallmark of football.
That ZIFA had last had a meaningful strategic plan in 2014 sounded like a script plucked from some fiction book.
Yet that was the stark reality as the association tottered aimlessly and became notorious for taking the begging bowl to the Government in particular and corporates in general at the 11th hour.
However, since the era of the FIFA-appointed Normalisation Committee ZIFA have gradually turned on a new leaf in the manner in which they have been going about their business.
For over a year, ZIFA were under the administration of FIFA via Lincoln Mutasa’s Normalisation Committee with the world football governing body insisting on implementation of systems in the governance of the game.
Refreshingly the new executive committee that was ushered into office on January 25 on a four-year mandate have shown promising signs to carry on from where Mutasa and his colleagues who included Rosemary Mugadza, Sikumbuzo Ndebele, Nyasha Sanyamandwe and Cynthia Malaba left of.
Almost every second week since he assumed office, ZIFA president Nqobile Magwizi has either been stringing commercial deals or announcing policies and measures aimed at enhancing the development of the game and also tapping into the vast commercial value in football.
This week Magwizi’s ZIFA broke with tradition and opted to involve Zimbabweans in the branding of the national teams starting with the flagship side the Warriors.
In the year that the Warriors will be making their sixth appearance at the Africa Cup of Nations, ZIFA wants them to wear kits that are designed by Zimbabweans and which tell a story and reflect the true identity of this beautiful Southern African country.
It is indeed the beckoning of exciting times for domestic football when its citizens can proudly take ownership of the kits that their national teams will be wearing.
According to Magwizi, for the next six weeks, it will be a roller-coaster ride as the creative talents of Zimbabweans are out to the test to design and brand the kits that the Warriors will wear at the AFCON tournament scheduled for Morocco in late December to early January.
This follows the launch of a national campaign by ZIFA yesterday appealing to local designers and football enthusiasts to design unique and inspiring brands and kits that reflect Zimbabwe’s football passion.
The ground-breaking initiative, dubbed the “Warrior Pride: Brand Design Battle”, was announced by ZIFA president Nqobile Magwizi in Harare, and will run for the next six weeks.
ZIFA have also put in a US$3 000 cash prize, and an all-expenses paid-for trip to watch the Warriors’ opening match against Egypt at the AFCON tournament.
But more importantly is the realisation by ZIFA that they could actually rake in more from the sale replicas that are made by the countrymen and women rather incurring huge import bills.
Zimbabwe’s northern neighbours Zambia have already undertaken that route and it has reaped rewards for them after decades of flirting with various brands like Puma, Adidas, Joma and Nike.
While such big global brands like Adidas, Umbro and Puma remain the torch bearers, the initiative by ZIFA to have an indigenously designed and style kit must be applauded.
That the Uganda Football Association have reportedly done it successfully with the Cranes kits, shows that with aggressive marketing and affordable pricing, it can also be achieved in a country where football fans are also crazy about their Warriors.
While it has its commercial spin where instead of splashing about millions of dollars importing kits, ZIFA could cut on the costs and have custom-made outfits that could give the Warriors a unique identity whenever they step onto the pitch.
Apart from the funding they get from FIFA via grants, ZIFA need to create more avenues that guarantee sustained growth of football whether it is in Area Zones, districts, provinces, regions, primary and secondary schools and tertiary institutions.
As Magwizi aptly put it: “It is a groundbreaking national campaign that puts the creative power into the hands of Zimbabweans. For the first time, we are inviting graphic designers, artists, football fans, and creative minds across Zimbabwe to shape the future identity of our national football teams”.
“This is your chance to design a brand and kit that truly represents the spirit, resilience, and unity of Zimbabwe in football.
“This initiative is designed to engage the nation in the creative process of branding our national teams. Of course, encourage creativity and participation from designers and football enthusiasts, as well as showcase our national pride through unique and inspiring designs,” said Magwizi.
The campaign is more than just a competition as it seeks to rally the cross-section of Zimbabweans behind the national teams and it is also another fan engagement exercise and that effect such hashtags like #WarriorPride and #ZimKitChallenge, have been crafted in a bid to the initiative into a huge national sporting movement that should unite Zimbabweans through design and football.
We believe such legacy initiatives not only deserve to be given a chance but must be supported.
We also urge ZIFA to be transparent in the manner the adjudication is done and to ensure the ground-breaking ceremony that will spur on other sporting codes like rugby, cricket, athletics and netball to follow suit.
Maybe, ZIFA have really turned the corner and watch with excitement as the commercialisation drive takes shape.
Online Reporter