Football should turn a fresh page

THE announcement by the ZIFA Restructuring Committee that they have completed the task given to them by the Sports and Recreation Commission should come as a giant step towards the healing process of the domestic game.   

Zimbabwean football needs to reboot from the current state of ruin, which is the only way forward for the nation to develop and compete effectively at all stages.

Right now, there is no football to talk about in the country after Zimbabwe got stripped of all its rights in the family of international football following the indefinite suspension imposed by FIFA in February last year.

It’s almost a year now and it is unfortunate Zimbabwe finds itself in this state, but all this was a culmination of years of corruption and mismanagement.

Corrective measures needed to be taken and the Sports and Recreation Commission should be applauded for taking the brave decision to confront the corrupt leaders at ZIFA head on.

It has been a painful process in the last 12 months. But it was necessary. One way or the other, the vicious cycle had to be broken for football to avoid the certain demise it was facing.

Unfortunately, athletes and officials have been caught up in the process as their international careers have been in limbo for the whole year.

The national teams did not participate in regional and international competitions such as the 2023 AFCON and the 2024 Olympic qualifiers.  

But the year has started off on a positive footing for football. The report that all the football stakeholders have been waiting for, to see how they move forward from this chaos, is now complete and is in the hands of the Sports and Recreation Commission.

The report was authored by the Zimbabwe Football Restructuring Committee that was appointed by the Sports and Recreation Commission in December 2021.

The committee’s tenure ended on December 31, 2022 and it has announced that the year-long task to transform football in Zimbabwe is now complete.

The committee submitted its final report of findings and recommendations to the Sports and Recreation Commission in detail on December 23, 2022.

In line with its terms of reference, the Zimbabwe Football Restructuring Committee conducted stakeholder engagement forums with the goal of providing a comprehensive report detailing findings, recommendations, reforms, and strategies for the proper administration of football in Zimbabwe.

The report aims to address the current status quo within football structures and administration and offers solutions designed to usher in a new and refreshing chapter for local football, thereby establishing Zimbabwe as a leading football nation on the African continent and beyond.

This mission is also consistent with the overarching objectives of FIFA outlined in Article 2 of the FIFA Statutes.

Zimbabwe needs to move away from the old ways of running football and the culture of impunity that brought ruin to the game.

Corruption was at the centre of most of ZIFA’s problems from one generation to the other. The corrupt football leaders have always gotten away with murder on the pretext that FIFA does not allow “third part interference”. 

They used the clause in the FIFA statutes to hide their heinous activities and for most of the time they escaped scrutiny.

Sadly, FIFA last year confirmed for themselves the repugnant sexual harassment that had been swept under cover for years at ZIFA and handed heavy sanctions on one of the culprits, Obert Zhoya, a former ZIFA referees secretary.

Most recently, an independent forensic audit conducted by BDO Zimbabwe unearthed massive financial misdemeanors.

The audit report revealed that ZIFA could have been prejudiced of over US$600 000 and over ZW$73 million in local currency for a three-year period between December 2018 and November 2021.

There have also been allegations of vote-buying during election time and former ZIFA president Felton Kamambo is still battling to clear his name in the courts after he was accused of bribing voters ahead of the 2018 ballot.

There have been several transgressions committed by the people in leadership at ZIFA and it impacted heavily on the interests of the nation as a footballing country.

Now that the ZIFA Restructuring Committee has completed its mandate, there should be deliberate steps towards a positive makeover as part of the strategic roadmap towards addressing the issues that have affected football management and administration in Zimbabwe.

The principal role of the Restructuring Committee was to review and recommend reforms in the administration of football in Zimbabwe in the following areas: the ZIFA constitution, ZIFA executive, junior football development, strategic plan, elections and forensic audit.

The domestic football leadership should embrace the positive recommendations made in the final report to assist in transforming the face of the game in the country.

The report is a product of one year of intense research and it aims to address the current status quo within football structures and administration and offers solutions designed to usher in a new and refreshing chapter for local football.

We trust the process will bring positive results at the end. Zimbabwe needs to be readmitted by FIFA, transformed and ready to take up the challenges. The football leadership should leave no stone unturned to make the nation a great football nation once again.