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Petros Kausiyo Deputy Sports Editor
FIFA development officer for Southern African Ashford Mamelodi has warned ZIFA against trying to set up a committee that will superintend national coach Callisto Pasuwa arguing it could backfire on the stability of the squad ahead of the 2017 African Cup of Nations finals.
Mamelodi completed a three-day working visit in the country during which he met with ZIFA president Philip Chiyangwa and his executive, various football stakeholders and the association’s creditors and workers.
The veteran administrator was on a fact-finding mission at the instigation of the new FIFA leadership curious to know more about the Zimbabwe situation amid claims there was a massive crisis characterised by parallel structures obtaining in the national game.
Mamelodi waded into the debate on the Warriors that has followed the senior team’s qualification for the Nations Cup jamboree and gave suggestions on how best ZIFA could handle the situation.
He wondered why Zimbabweans were not doing enough to celebrate and appreciate the fact that despite the financial challenges faced by ZIFA, the country was the only Southern African country that qualified for the Nations Cup.
Pasuwa has been an unfortunate victim of some unwarranted attacks with some critics suddenly finding fault in the fact that he is managed by Gibson Mahachi, who also is an intermediary of some national team players.
Mahachi has had to respond and dismiss the “frivolous and baseless” claims that he abuses his links to Pasuwa to influence the Warriors’ selection so that it is biased towards the players he manages.
ZIFA have also announced a High Performance Committee of club coaches expected to oversee the national team among its duties.
The High Performance Committee, chaired by ZIFA vice-president Omega Sibanda, includes former Warriors coaches Sunday Chidzambwa and Rahman Gumbo, the association’s technical director Taurai Mangwiro, ex-referee and ZIFA councillor Masimba Chihowa, Harare City gaffer Moses Chunga and former Chapungu mentor Innocent Chogugudza.
But Mamelodi, with vast years of experience in helping African associations to deal with varying problems ranging from governance to development, warned that ZIFA could rock the Warriors’ boat by setting up a committee to oversee Pasuwa’s work or be seen to be hovering near the dressing room.
“The national coach in any part of the world reports to the executive through the chief executive.
“You are not going to have a national coach reporting to a committee or group of coaches. That won’t work at all and it has never worked.
“You are not going to have national coach reporting to a technical advisor or working under a technical advisor and believe you me, many countries especially in Africa have tried without success to have such a set-up.
“A national coach is an independent soul and the minute you try to help him with his job or if you appear to be interfering with his job and trying to influence how things should be done, you are going to have serious problems.
“So if the HPC in Zimbabwe is going to superintend over the national coach you should brace for problems and even instability in the Nations Cup squad.
“It’s either you trust the coach or you don’t? And if you don’t trust the coach then you look for another one, but even that replacement coach is still going to reject any moves he may feel to be interfering with his duties . . . that is their nature.
“Now in Zimbabwe’s case it appears your coach has done wonders with very limited resources and he is the only coach from the region to qualify for the Nations Cup and that is amazing,’’ Mamelodi said.
Previous Warriors coaches such Norman Mapeza, Ian “Dibango’’ Gorowa and Chidzambwa vehemently resisted moves to either have a scenario where they reported to the High Performance Committee or get a technical advisor appointed to the senior side.
Chidzambwa has, in the past, hinted that he could only assist Pasuwa at the request of the Warriors coach.
Mamelodi said the national coach could choose to work closely with the technical director although his reporting structure ought to be more direct to the executive through the chief executive.
The FIFA official, however, said he had no qualms with the association putting in place a technical development committee as development was one the pillars of football the world over and that such a sub-committee was key in the ZIFA structures.
That technical development committee is chaired by Sibanda with former Warriors and Zimbabwe Saints coach Gibson Homela deputising him.
The other members of that committee are Wisdom Simba, Tumeliso Ndlovu, former technical director Nelson Matongorere, Bheki Nyoni, ex-Mighty Warriors gaffer Rosemary Mugadza and technical director Mangwiro.
Online Reporter