‘Judge us fairly please’

Robson Sharuko Senior Sports Editor
ZIFA president Cuthbert Dube concedes that his board has come short on a number of fronts this year, but feels critics should appreciate the personal sacrifice he has made just to keep his ship afloat in stormy waters.
The Zifa board had come under increased scrutiny and criticism in recent months after the Warriors limped to their worst World Cup campaign, since the group qualifying format was introduced more than 20 years ago.

The Warriors were also dislodged as Cosafa Cup champions during the year, losing to Zambia in the final, while the Young Warriors only went as far as the semi-finals in their Cosafa Under-20 Cup challenge.

Dube conceded yesterday that they hadn’t met all their targets for the year and they could have done better on a number of fronts, but found themselves pegged down by financial constraints.

“I think it’s fair to criticise us because there are a number of areas where we didn’t reach our targets this year,” Dube told The Herald yesterday.

“We are striving to be better, but obviously, the issue of funding has held us back and, without adequate resources, you can only do so much as an organisation.

“As a board, I agree that there are areas where we could have done better, even in the current environment, had we put in more effort together, but we all have to look at ourselves in the mirror and some of us will see that they haven’t contributed anything to the game or board since we assumed office.”

Dube feels his board’s success stories, including turning the Zifa Village into a modern facility that can be used for training camps by national teams and conferences by the association, haven’t received the credit they probably deserve.

The Zifa boss feels that just keeping the association afloat, without it sinking under its mountain of challenges, the majority of them financially-related in an operating environment where funding was scarce, was a heroic achievement.

“We are probably the only association that doesn’t have a sponsor and our situation hasn’t been helped by the fact that we didn’t get any help from the old Ministry of Education, Sport,  Arts and Culture,” said Dube.

“You can’t run a national association and national teams from what you get from the Zifa president.
“The encouraging thing is that the new Minister of Sport (Andrew Langa) has been receptive to our challenges and we are hopeful that the Government will play a big part going forward.

“The minister is committed to seeing our national teams doing very well and he is set to meet the Warriors in camp this week.”
Dube revealed that he has been paying Ian Gorowa’s salary since the former Zimbabwe international forward was engaged to take charge of the Warriors.

Gorowa — who replaced German expatriate Klaus Dieter Pagels in August — will lead the Warriors at the 2014 CHAN finals in South Africa next month.

Unbeaten since he took over as the Warriors head coach, Gorowa will be hoping to become the first gaffer to take the team beyond the group stages of the CHAN finals.

Legendary coach Sunday Chidzambwa was unbeaten at the 2009 CHAN finals in Cote d’lvoire, but three draws, including two against eventual finalists Ghana and the DRC, ended his brave campaign prematurely.

Madinda Ndlovu won one game, with the Warriors at the 2011 CHAN finals, but it wasn’t enough to take his team beyond the group stages in Sudan.

Gorowa will be hoping to do better than Chidzambwa and Madinda, although financial challenges rocking Zifa blew his original training programme, which he wanted held in South Africa, off course.

He has had to settle for a local training camp that has suffered its fair share of disruptions, including the withdrawal of key players and severe logistical challenges that forced him to use his money to buy supper for the team one evening.

Sources say Gorowa earns about US$5 000 a month, which is a fraction of what he would earn coaching a Premiership team in South Africa and what comes from additional revenue streams of the media work he was doing there.

“I have been paying Ian’s salary since he started coaching the team,” said Dube.
“Zifa doesn’t have money to pay him, but we need a coach for the Warriors because we have a number of big international assignments.
“It’s not what you want to see, the Zifa president paying the salary of the national coach, but what can we do when we are in the situation that we find ourselves in?

“I never came to the newspapers to tell you guys that I am the one who is paying Ian’s salary because I didn’t think it was something I was doing to get mileage or pubic support.

“I did it because I felt I could not just sit and watch while the national team goes on without a coach and Ian has taken us to the CHAN finals and the whole country expects the team to do well.

“Interestingly, if the Warriors do well in South Africa, the entire country will feel proud of their achievements and no one will care about the small, but key roles that we are playing just to keep the machine working.

“But for someone like me it’s all about leadership and the sacrifice is for the country and not a chase for personal glory.”
The Zifa president, who is currently out of the country, revealed that he was advised, a few days ago, that food was running out in the Warriors camp.

“I personally donated five bags of mealie-meal to ensure that the boys’ food supplies are taken care of until they leave for South Africa,” said Dube.

“I never asked why this had not been conveyed to other board members who are in the country because I accept that as leader the buck stops with me.

“But it’s not just the Warriors that I have been taking care of, I gave the staff at Zifa Village, headquarters and provincial offices 10 bags of maize meal this month just to help them get along because the association has no money.

“On top of that I paid US$16 600 just before Christmas to cover the salaries of all the Zifa staff members, from the CEO right to the lowest ranked employee, and it’s the first time they have had a cheer this Christmas in a long time.

“I never held a Press conference to announce all that because I haven’t been doing it for mileage, but I do it because it has to be done.
“So, when you criticise me, take time to also look at what I have been doing just to keep this Zifa House intact and it’s not been easy.

“My hope is that the boys do well at the CHAN finals and I have spoken to the captain and two other players and they are ready to fight for the country,” Dube said.