Pamire challenges Zifa

FORMER Zifa president Vincent Pamire says an all-inclusive approach to the game is what the country needs to forge ahead.

He says success can only be achieved if people work for it and look at it as a process rather than an event.

“Sporting success is not an accident. It is a carefully strategised manoeuvre requiring material and financial resources to come into play to enable human capital to make things happen on the field. You do not grow lemons to make oranges,” said Pamire.

He said a collective approach to aid technical director Jethro Hunidzarira is what Zimbabwe needs as it has to start at grassroots level. Every district has to have development going on for kids, coaches, administrators including volunteers, they are important in oiling sport development.

“If every inch of the country is doing grassroot junior development with parameters for implementation, monitoring and evaluation, we will go far as a country and we will always be present at major tournaments. That will be a reward for a united approach and real action on the ground.”

Pamire was president of Zifa when the country won its second Cosafa tournament in 2003. They added another cap that year when they qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations finals hosted by Tunisia.

Pamire said they had a development programme that started with the Under-17s in 1996 and some of the players went through the Under-20s and 23s in that six- year cycle and guided the team to success.

“It was a process that involved some of our best juniors and we got the desired results. We became regional champions and our Under-20s dominated the regional tournaments. Some of the boys were in the team that won the Cosafa Castle Cup in 2000 and returned to claim it in 2003,” said Pamire.

He praised Hunidzarira for his all-inclusive approach which has seen him going out to the provinces and speaking to football people from across the ecosystem and getting feedback that is key to the development document to be crafted.

“It won’t be his development document but the nation’s. Wherever he has been to, he is meeting people from schools, tertiary institutions, junior, Area Zones, provinces and regions’ football. Former players and referees have all been attending his meetings and making their contributions on the way forward for the game. It is time to look forward and bury the past,” said Pamire.

He commended those that have been sponsoring national events like Heroes, Unity Day and Independence football tournaments.

Pamire challenged Zifa to take advantage of these positive developments and speak to the sponsors and organisers with a view of involving everyone so that no one is left behind in football.

“From the first tournament in 1980 when we had four countries taking part in a tournament won by Zimbabwe, I have always enjoyed the finals and I praise the Government for its role in profiling soccer and involving it at that level,” he said.

Pamire appealed to Zifa and the organisers to involve as many teams as possible in national events tournaments to ensure teams from every corner of Zimbabwe participate.

He said this could also be an opportunity to promote talent from all over and have a more transparent way of selecting national team players.

“It is good that the national independence celebrations are creating a legacy as stadia have been built in the last two years in the rural areas where the celebrations were held,” said Pamire.

He called upon Zifa to go all out and revive the Zifa Unity Cup whose winners then qualify for the Confederation of African Football Cup.

The last two Independence Cup finals have taken the game to the people and left infrastructure that will serve communities for decades.

Mount Darwin in Mashonaland Central province and Murambinda in Buhera, Manicaland province have so far benefited from hosting the national independence celebrations.