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Sports Reporter
FOOTBALL stakeholders have welcomed the new Zifa constitution outreach and are hopeful that it will help improve the level of administration and competition in Zimbabwean soccer.The national soccer body, last weekend started the process of crafting a new constitution approved by stakeholders and it is expected to be ratified and adopted at an assembly extra-ordinary general meeting.
The Zifa Constitutional Review Committee has embarked on an outreach exercise, engaging all football stakeholders so that they can get their buy-in into the new constitution. In their first weekend, they covered seven provinces – Matabeleland South, Bulawayo, Matabeleland North, Midlands, Masvingo, Mashonaland East and Mutare.
On Saturday, the Zifa Constitutional Review Committee which was set up in 2011 and is made up of lawyers Tinofara Hove, Cosmas Mukwesha, Tim Sangarwe, Cornelius Bwanya and Tawengwa Hara, who all have a football background started the outreach programme.
Hara and Bwanya will meet stakeholders in Harare, with Hove and Maganga going to Mashonaland Central’s capital Bindura while Mukwesha and Sangarwe will be in Chinhoyi in Mashonaland West.
The new constitution will bring a lot of changes to the structure of Zimbabwean football, with the most notable being the composition of the Zifa board which will be reduced from 13 members to seven after abolishing several positions and the formation of a National First Division Soccer League.
The stakeholders are skeptical about the National First Division Soccer League which will act as a feeder to the Premiership and should the new constitution be ratified later this month, it will kick off next year with Zifa in charge instead of the PSL.
The National First Division Soccer League will be made up of 16 teams that will come from the four Zifa regions which will contribute three teams each with the four teams relegated from the PSL completing the league.
Once the National First Division Soccer League has been established, the PSL will relegate two teams at the end of each season.
“I think the new constitution does not have any flaws but the major concern for us as stakeholders is that the new Division One League might lead to extinction of some clubs. Already clubs are struggling to get sponsors in their Division One leagues as well as the PSL so with so much travelling involved, it might have a negative impact on clubs,” said Tawanda Ruzive, the Zifa Southern Region treasurer and Quelaton FC founder.
Faith Silandulo Dube, the Zifa Bulawayo Metropolitan Province Junior League secretary called for a sports ministry that will attend to matters affecting sport.
“We have discussed the new constitution which to me is what Fifa wants and these guys from Zifa were only here to enlighten us about some changes that will be made. I am a little bit skeptical about the establishment of a National First Division Soccer League because it needs lots of funding and I don’t think Zifa will be able to run it looking into the fact that they (Zifa) also need money.
Who will fund these clubs?
“In theory it is good to have such a league that will entail a competitive Premiership but still most clubs will fold. Imagine the cost of travelling from Victoria Falls to Mutare? This is a sensitive matter and for some of the things to move we just need a separate ministry to deal with sports needs like the geographical matters. In South Africa at one time they had a Coastal and Inland First Division Leagues because they had seen the burden that clubs were undergoing.
If we can have two Division One Leagues – Southern and Northern I think that will be better,” said Dube.
The chairman of the Zifa Matabeleland North Province Dennis Tshuma was full of praise for the outreach exercise.
“The new constitution does not favour anyone actually what it does, it challenges people to work hard. We have some of the people in office doing nothing and I think they will be exposed soon.
“We had a fruitful meeting in Hwange and Lupane where we met Area Zones leagues as well. I do not think the new constitution will face any resistance at the assembly later this month,” said Tshuma.
Hara was impressed with the contributions that they got from stakeholders.
“The stakeholders understand that – when we embarked on the first outreach that led to us drafting the constitution before Fifa came here – wanted them to have a say in the governing of football. The people also understand that the new constitution carries their views and we are just enlightening them on the final document,” Hara said.
Online Reporter