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Eddie Chikamhi Sports Reporter
FORMER Warriors coaches Shepherd Murape and Daniel Chikanda have sharply criticised plans by the Zifa board to charge “exorbitant” fees for aspiring candidates in elections that will be held next year. Zifa announced at the weekend that those who wish to run for posts on their board in the March 2014 elections have to part with US$10 000 while nomination fees for the Premier Soccer League positions were pegged at US$5 000.
The association’s chief executive Jonathan Mashingaidze, told reporters they wanted to “separate chancers from people who want to serve football.”
Those vying for women’s football, beach soccer and five-a-side positions will pay US$2 500.
Mashingaidze also said candidates interested in regional positions are expected to pay US$1 500 with provincial candidates depositing
US$1 000 to stand for the elections while Area Zone nomination fees have been pegged at US$100.
The decision has sparked outrage within the domestic football community and yesterday the association got stinging criticism from two of the country’s football legends who also had stints as national team coaches.
Chikanda said the current Zifa administration was afraid of change at the March 29 elections as they were aware they have failed to take the game forward in the four years they have been in charge.
Chikanda, who also made a name at Kaizer Chiefs in the 1970s, said it was unfortunate that Zifa were trying to create a structure of aristocrats at the expense of poor but capable candidates.
“The football people want change since they have a duty to correct mismanagement. What they (Zifa) are doing is a way of putting a hedge of protection around a certain clique of administrators so that they are not challenged by other qualified people who may not be as financially gifted as they are,” said Chikanda.
“It’s a case of rich people taking advantage of their wealth to gain control of the game even if they may be bankrupt in terms of football ideas.
“It’s totally unacceptable, if you ask me, US$10 000 is a life savings for most Zimbabweans. If I’m asked to pay that much for a football position, how much then should I be made to pay to run for the country’s presidency?
“Here in Zimbabwe football is played mostly by people in the middle and lower class and these are the people who are likely to contest for Zifa positions. Where do you think they get that kind of money?”
Chikanda said the football family should unite to reject this attempt to try and turn football leadership in the country into an island reserved for rich people only.
“If the same clique succeed in their endeavors then we are racing for the bottom in terms of development and on the Fifa rankings,” said Chikanda.
“When this Zifa board took over our country was somewhere around number 70 in the Fifa rankings but where are we now?
“With all that talent that we have we are now somewhere outside the top 100.
“They have failed. They have no clue what is needed to run the game. That’s what I think.”
Veteran coach Murape, who is working in South Africa at Witbank Spurs, described Zifa’s proposal as “nonsense.”
Murape said what was important is to get the people with the right ideas for the development of the game irrespective of their financial background.
“This is absolute nonsense. I have never heard of that before. Such fees are just too much for the majority of aspiring candidates who are capable to do the job and therefore the money issue becomes prohibitive,” said Murape.
“This is not the American presidency where one has to be very rich to contest for the post. We are talking about football.
“That position has nothing to do with rich people. The position needs someone who has football at heart, someone with football brains and a clear blueprint for development. That person has to be of high integrity, someone who is honesty and without a criminal record.
“Why would one have to pay lots of money to contest for a football position? I think they (Zifa) are taking the wrong approach because chances are high that they will end up with the wrong people, which will not benefit our football.”
The current Zifa board is led by Cuthbert Dube with Ndumiso Gumede as vice-president.
The other board members are former Warriors defender John Phiri, Twine Phiri, Elliot Kasu, Nigel Munyati, women’s football boss Mavis Gumbo and representatives from the country’s four provinces.
“I saw a good national team which beat South Africa here. From that performance alone, it made me think that we have better players than South Africa. That is why I am saying with such loads of talent, complemented by good leadership, Zimbabwe has the potential to go far,” said Murape.
Incumbent Zifa president Dube, who was voted in office in 2010, has already indicated that he will be running for the post again.
Zifa have already got the election process off the ground following the appointment of a 11-member committee to run the elections.
The committee comprises former association vice-president Tendai Madzorera, Fifa instructor Elizabeth Banda, retired High Court judge
Kennedy Sibanda, Labour Court of Zimbabwe judge Sello Nare, legal practitioners Musekiwa Mbanje, Tinofara Hove, Tichawana Nyahuma, former Warriors and CAPS United defender Charles Sibanda.
Zifa honorary member Passious Masunda, Cornelius Bganya, Zifa legal advisor Ralph Maganga and Mashingaidze are ex-officio members of the committee.
The nomination process for the Area Zones elections opened last week and will close on December 11.
The electoral committee will meet on December 14 to vet the nomination papers and come up with the list of candidates eligible for the elections which will take place a week later at the offices of the country’s four regions.
Nominations processes for other Zifa affiliates will take place next month and in January 2014 while the nominations for the Zifa board will open in February 2014 ahead of elections which will be held on March 29 2014 at the Zifa Village.
Online Reporter