Online Reporter
Zimpapers Sports Hub
THE statement by former Warriors fullback Harlington Shereni that the relationship between players and media must be mutual, requires Zimbabwe Football Association to do more in their communication strategy.
The confrontation between Tino Kadewere and a journalist cannot be condoned, and reality is it overshadowed the more important assignment against Rwanda, a match Zimbabwe lost 1-0.
Questions that arise are, how were Michael Nees technical team protecting their players from such? And have Zifa taken their time to know how they can get the best out of football journalists?
Shereni, having played for the Warriors over a long period and interacted with many of the journalists, was talking from experience, especially for players to be fully focused before a game.
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“The relationship between football players and the media must be based on mutual respect and professionalism. When a dispute arises—especially one that affects a player’s well-being and which in turn affects the team and Zimbabwe as a whole,” said Shereni.
“It’s about creating a respectful and supportive environment for all players. The Zimbabwe football association should promote this by letting the media professionals be responsible in their reporting and respectful questioning. Empowering players to speak out about mistreatment without fear of backlash. Building ongoing support systems within the ZIFA including welfare officers and mental health advocates,” said Shereni.
Tragedy for the nation at this point will be to put full blame on any of the parties involved in the fracas before the Rwanda game.
With the way some former players have come in support of Tino, it will be important for Zifa to understand the take of other national team players on that incident as a starting point. The statement after the incident was largely a PR job.
As I said journos get overly excited. Players have nothing to lose but journalists must write captivating stories hence they try too hard and end up creating controversy. There is no reason why a player cannot remain disciplined and respectful to anyone. It can only be media personnel that take it a bit too far in order to score a scoop. I remain convinced that Tino was pushed to the brim and his reaction was expected as a human being. The problem with media is they believe they are beyond reproach. They must do as they please regardless. One journo even declared that respect for media is non negotiable which is a lot of bull. Respect is very expensive. You must earn it regardless of who you are. So media personnel must bear in mind that they deal with people who also have the human side of feelings.
Thank you Mr Shereni for telling someone that “the child is yours’. Our reporters or should I say reporting system is more always in a mocking mode and one would wonder whether these reporters are for the Zimbabwean caisue or not. Do our reporters write for some foreign nationals or for us? At most, they are fighting their own people. Politics and sport should be as different as is and their need to be positive. Is ZIFA a public institution or it has to be because something is not right somewhere.