It’s high time the rot stops in Zim football

Phillip Mbofana in Warsaw, Poland 

THE current situation of our football in Zim­babwe is very sad as it has been going on for a very long time, dating back to the late 90’s.

The leaders at the top have come and gone but the more people change at the top, the more the football status remains stagnant or even worse.

This therefore, implies that it is the system that needs a complete overhaul just like what we do to a motor engine because without that, a motor engine eventually runs to a complete stop.

Maladministration of the game has been let to run our football for a long time with no proper checks and balances. Various national teams have suffered at the hands of the football leaders and women’s football has come out worse off.

Source of Problems

A closer look at the last five ZIFA Boards and Assemblies will unearth a very worrying trend where elevation to the top posts has been through patronage and clandestine overnight meetings where the vote is decided well before the voting day.

There are some individual and group kingmakers who have made football more like their profession yet the ZIFA Board and ZIFA Assembly positions are termly positions. One needs to serve for a specific term before passing on the baton.

The current system is so regrettable that no matter how one may be smart and upright even in the business world but the moment one joins the band wagon, the system forces the person to sail with the monsoon wind.

The build up to ZIFA elections is so fraught with irregularities, including some dubious decisions by the ZIFA Electoral Committee where people of questionable football back­ground have been allowed to contest the elec­tions much against the dictates of the ZIFA Constitution.

I have personal experience of how these elections are run as I was the campaign man­ager for James Takavada in the 2015 elections. What I experienced then is of great concern and if not addressed our football will continue to be run by undeserving people.

The fact that there are some people facing court action today is no surprise as it is an open secret that a lot of underhand dealings have been going on for quite a long time and it has become more of the acceptable path to land a post on the ZIFA Board.

On the eve of the 2015 elections, I was tipped by someone to go to Monomotapa Hotel where one of the contesting candidates was hosting councillors and I witnessed that with my own eyes.

The next day I was not surprised by the out­come of the elections as the assumed inevitable result was the outcome.

We had run a clean campaign but I guess we were rather naïve as the football system doesn’t favour those who merely sell football only.

The rot is not only for the ZIFA Board elec­tions but cascades down to all structures of the game where the biggest problem emanates from.

The ZIFA Assembly is the parliament of foot­ball but, unfortunately, most Assembly meet­ings are more like a Headmaster addressing school pupils where no meaningful exchanges take place (I have personal experience too when as coaches still had representatives in the Assembly).

Constituents like NAPH, NASH, Tertiary Institutions, Beach Football, Five-A-Side, and Area Zones are just there to add up numbers on election day as there is almost nothing com­ing from them for meaningful contribution to football.

The moment the Zimbabwe Soccer Coaches Association (ZISCA) started to make criti­cal contributions to the Assembly we were removed from the Assembly alongside a few others and the result is, there is now no room for divergent views in football.

Most Assembly members cannot question obvious maladministration because they are afraid not to be appointed as Head of Delega­tion for foreign trips with national teams where they pick up a few dollars for their pockets.

The Way Forward

The Sports Commission must be applauded for taking an overdue decision of suspending the ZIFA Board.

There is an English term which says it is never late for anything and in this regard one hopes that the Sports Commission will remain resolute in weeding out all corrupt and useless people who pretend to love football but actually love the money in football.

Have you ever wondered why people jostle for ZIFA positions yet the association is always said to be broke? You only need to be in football to understand this and it is high time checks and balances are put in place to safeguard this most popular game in the world against opportunists.

FIFA may threaten or even ban us but per­sonally I believe we are now going through a necessary metamorphosis for posterity. We may cry for short gains now like the AFCON 2022 but I think it is more important to re-lay the football foundation so that we can become a future football powerhouse.

The brains, ability, expertise and technical knowhow are all there but the problem is that most of these skilled people do not want to be associated with the circus football has been run in Zimbabwe.

While the Sports Commission appointed a committee full of men and women of integrity in business and sports, I believe more football brains are needed in that committee because their recommendations are as important as they are going to shape the future of football in our beloved country.

Good luck to the Warriors (at next month’s AFCON finals in Cameroon) and let’s all enjoy Christmas as we look forward to 2022.

• Phillip Mbofana is a former Young War­riors coach who also had a stint with the now-defunct former Premiership sides Mhangura and Douglas Warriors. He is currently in the technical department of Polish Third Division side, City Wilanow, which is based in Warsaw. He wrote this article in his personal capacity.