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Petros Kausiyo Harare Bureau
BULAWAYO businessman Omega Sibanda has thrown his weight behind aspiring Zifa presidential candidate Phillip Chiyangwa and revealed yesterday that he would be canvassing for support for him from the association councillors ahead of the December 5 elections.
The declaration followed a meeting between the two in which Sibanda agreed to become Chiyangwa’s running mate for the elections of a new board of the beleaguered football mother body that has been weighed down by crippling debts.
Chiyangwa has hit the ground running since officially becoming a Zifa presidential candidate on Monday when he paid his registration fee.
There are no other candidates who have officially entered the race yet although there are strong indications that former Dynamos chairman and ex-Warriors fitness trainer Temba Mliswa, incumbent Premier Soccer League boss Twine Phiri, former Warriors right back James Takavada and 2014 losing Zifa presidential candidate Trevor Carelse-Juul will battle for the right to lead the national association.
Having officially registered as a candidate, Chiyangwa has wasted no time trying to charm the game’s key stakeholders.
Yesterday he took his whirlwind campaign trail to Bulawayo, Masvingo and Chiredzi as he began interacting with councillors and the game’s other stakeholders.
Former Zifa vice-president Sibanda confirmed he held a meeting with Chiyangwa after which he resolved to back the flamboyant Harare businessman.
Sibanda, who was deputy to Cuthbert Dube on the Zifa board before he was suspended, has also strongly hinted that he would seek a fresh mandate to serve on the association’s executive committee.
But after having resolved to throw his weight behind Chiyangwa yesterday, Sibanda now looks to contest for the association’s vice-president post.
It is Sibanda’s argument too that he never really got a chance to execute his role as Dube’s deputy largely because of clashes with Zifa chief executive Jonathan Mashingaidze.
Sibanda said he had bought into the gospel that Chiyangwa has been preaching, that of unlocking the value in football and driving the capitalisation programme for Zifa in which he has launched an audacious bid to turn around the cash-strapped association’s fortunes before 2018.
“I met Chiyangwa in Bulawayo this morning and he was talking about his candidature and I felt he made a lot of sense in the vision that he has for our football.
“I’ll definitely support him. He’s also the only candidate who has come to me but I must also say the onus rests with the councillors who I respect so much,’’ Sibanda said.
Sibanda also said he had been charmed by the analogies that Chiyangwa drew between South African Football Association president Danny Jordan, veteran South African politician and businessman Tokyo Sexwale and himself.
Former South African cabinet minister and African National Congress member Sexwale has thrown his name for the Fifa presidency.
“He spoke about how Danny Jordan has managed to steer Safa despite being a businessman and a Mayor and the fact that Sexwale has a strong political background and is also a businessman but they’re both into football and holding key positions in the game,’’ Sibanda said.
Chiyangwa reckoned that Sibanda should come in as his deputy in the Zifa election race, arguing that the former players’ agent “wasn’t given enough time on the last board’’.
“I chose him (Sibanda) because he was never given a chance on the previous board and I believe he has the potential and capacity to do well and he’s going to be my running mate,’’ Chiyangwa said.
It also emerged that Chiyangwa’s gospel of unlocking the business value of football has charmed a number of the councillors and stakeholders he has met so far.
It is the Harare businessman’s contention that football should take its place as a big industry in the country that should contribute to the Gross Domestic Product.
“Football is now a billion dollar industry in Europe. It’s become a major employer globally and we want that to happen to our football and it’s very possible to do that.
“In fact Zimbabwe has the potential to even attract a lot of talented foreign players that can help to give a competitive edge to our leagues,’’ Chiyangwa said.
Chiyangwa also insisted that he had felt compelled to throw his name into the Zifa presidential race in order to play his part in rescuing the situation in the game.
“As a responsible citizen of this country I can’t continue to fold my hands and watch the situation in our football further deteriorating because at the end of the day I would be guilty by complicity.
“In our culture one can’t ignore a man in distress as the memories will haunt you for life and that’s why culturally you are encouraged to assist.
“I believe with the ideas I have and with the support of everyone in the game and the team that will come, I can do my part between now and 2018 to change things in football and leave it capitalised,’’ Chiyangwa said.
The Harare businessman believes there are a number of technical experts for the domestic game but that it is the business aspect that has not been fully exploited.
“We need to have academies where young players can grow playing football and then graduate into the Premier League and other professional leagues so in essence football would have employed you right from a tender age,’’ Chiyangwa said.
Online Reporter