EDITORIAL COMMENT: ZTN football indaba was an eye-opener

THE Zimbabwe Newspapers Group (Zimpapers) this week took the initiative to bring the domestic Premiership leadership and other football stakeholders together to discuss the way forward in turning around the dwindling fortunes of the game.

Dubbed “It’s time to make Zim football exciting again”, the capacity building training workshop held in Harare on Monday was in many ways insightful.

The challenges with football administration in Zimbabwe are well-known. Zimbabwean football right now is probably at its lowest ebb, especially with the FIFA ban still holding.

The participants at the workshop were unanimous that the domestic league has lost its past glory.

Nostalgic references were made of those days, many years ago, when the local stadiums used to be filled to capacity; the days when whole families would go to the stadium without having to worry about their safety; the days when clubs were stable and would run smoothly, with vibrant junior development programmes that churned out polished players with consistency and with sponsors tripping over each other to be associated with the game. 

The sad story is that the opposite is actually happening with Zimbabwean football at the moment. But most of the time, no one is willing or brave enough to take the first step to bring about the much-needed corrective measures.

The domestic football brand is dead.

Currently, the league programme is on a forced break. Why? It is because most of the teams, almost half the clubs in the topflight league, do not have stadiums to play their home games.

The situation is that bad. Eight teams were sharing one venue – the National Sports Stadium – this season and as expected the turf was destroyed due to fixture congestion.

This is not the only challenge that domestic football is facing. There are a lot of issues that can be talked about that have led Zimbabwean football into this abyss.

These challenges cannot just be wished away. Proper conversations are needed around the problems so that local football can find its footing again.  

Zimpapers, through it’s television network, ZTN Prime, should be applauded for taking the initiative to give a rare platform for football issues to be ventilated.

Guest speaker Stan Matthews, a man with a rich background in football and broadcasting as SuperSport United Chief Executive as well as the regional satellite television giant SuperSport, nailed it in his presentation when he talked about football administration and the commercial side of the game.

The Minister of Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation, Kirsty Coventry and Zimpapers board chairman Tommy Sithole, a renowned sports administrator in his own right, also gave their contributions.

All the 18 Premier Soccer League clubs and media personnel were invited to the deliberations. The clubs were represented by their top administrators and there were also some former footballers in the room.

It is not every day that local football stakeholders get such a platform to speak frankly and openly about issues affecting the game. 

This is just the beginning towards resolving the challenges. Hopefully such engagements will continue in the future. Domestic football is in dire need of answers to many of its challenges.

But most importantly, the resolutions from the discussions should be put into action. Domestic football needs to start moving back in the right direction. It’s never too late.

The league needs to invest in infrastructure, playing and training facilities. There is a need to have a relook at corporate governance and restoring the integrity of the game.

Technical and player development has lagged behind for too long to such an extent the local teams cannot play competitively in CAF inter-club competitions.

At least, there are people out here who are still passionate about the game. ZTN did well to arrange the workshop. But that should not end there.

Football world over is a multi-billion-dollar industry, capable of changing livelihoods and contributing to the Gross Domestic Product.

It is one of the biggest employers in the sports industry. As a result, stakeholders should be proactive in saving the domestic game. It can be done. A new way of thinking is needed, hence the importance of sharing ideas.     

And for that, ZTN should be applauded for putting together that workshop. More platforms for discussion and corresponding action are needed going forward. Indeed, “we can all make Zimbabwean football exciting again.”