NC pair attends FIFA Women Convention

Sports Reporter

ZIFA have hailed the opportunity that members of their Normalisation got to attend the FIFA Women Football’s Convention, staged on the sidelines of the World Cup showpiece which ended in spectacular fashion in Australia yesterday.

The Normalisation committee duo of Nyasha Sanyamandwe and Rosemary Mugadza is in Australia at the invitation of FIFA.

Sanyamandwe seized the occasion of her presence in Australia for a chat and a photo moment with FIFA secretary-general Fatma Samoura.

Mugadza and Sanyamandwe were appointed onto the Normalisation Committee which was unveiled on July 11 with an arduous task of reforming Zimbabwean football.

Lawyer Sanyamandwe will also be seized with assisting ZIFA conclude the cases of abuse of female referees at the association which has already attracted a five-year ban for former Referees Committee secretary Obert Zhoya.

Both FIFA and the Sport and Recreation Commission made it clear that Zhoya’s conviction was just the tip of the iceberg and more probing will be done during the tenure of the Normalisation Committee.

Former Mighty Warriors skipper and coach Mugadza is expected to provide some guidance in the revival pf Women’s football that has been pushed into the shade by the ousted Felton Kamambo leadership

ZIFA in a brief statement yesterday welcomed Sanyamandwe and Mugadza’s presence at the FIFA convention, which they believe could be a game-changing experience in the bid to revive Women’s football in Zimbabwe.

“This is a gesture of further acknowledgement, recognition, sincerity and vote of confidence for women football.

“The trip was a significant opportunity for our women. The FIFA Women’s Convention undoubtedly created a solid network on behalf of the Zimbabwean Women and they can now leverage on those networks to grow women football in the country,” ZIFA said.

Sanyamandwe has wasted no time in making an imprint in the Normalisation Committee after warning her colleagues to avoid being consumed by the toxic politics that has been bleeding the life out of domestic football for years.

This came as Lincoln Mutasa’s committee, reportedly acting on instructions from FIFA head of development programmes for Africa Solomon Mudege, made the sacking of ZIFA acting chief executive Xolisani Gwesela, technical director Wilson Mutekede and national teams’ general manager Wellington Mpandare a huge priority.

The trio’s exits were then to be followed by the rest of the staff at the secretariat, that ironically has endured long months without being paid.

But Sanyamandwe warned her colleagues to follow due processes before arbitrarily dismissing the trio of Gwesela, Mutekede and Mpandare for allegedly not standing by Kamambo and his colleagues on the board – Philemon Machana, Bryton Malandule and Stanley Chapeta, during their stand-off with the Sports Commission.

ZIFA have been unable to pay their staffers since CAF ordered then acting president Gift Banda not to use the association’s funds that had been availed through the FIFA Forward programme.