admin
Ellina Mhlanga Sports Reporter
ASPIRING Zimbabwe Women Football chairperson Miriam Sibanda says there is need to focus on grassroots development in the game.
Sibanda goes head-on with incumbent chairperson Mavis Gumbo when elections for Zimbabwe Women’s Football leadership take place in Harare tomorrow.
Sibanda and Gumbo are the only candidates vying for the chairperson’s post.
Sibanda said there was need to refocus on development of the game starting from the lower level to create vibrant competition throughout the nation.
“The idea, really for me, I think is a refocus on what is the Zimbabwe Women Football’s core business,” said Sibanda who is a journalist and a businesswoman.
“From what I have seen, what I have heard and observed it seems the focus has been on the Mighty Warriors and I am saying that should not be our only focus.
“Our focus should be on the clubs, it should be on developing and generating interest at grassroots level so that we have girls playing football from primary school, we have girls playing football in high school and they continue playing when they go to tertiary school.
“And they have an opportunity to compete at various level, be it district level, provincial level, regional level and club level.
“That’s where I want to focus my energies on to make sure girls and women are playing football, women administrators are administering football, women referees are getting an opportunity to officiate at as many games as they possibly can, the medics are attending to as many athletes as possible.
“It’s really about focusing on the game which is at club level and then the Mighty Warriors become the fruit of our labours. We want to create vibrant competition for the Mighty Warriors jerseys.
“Mighty Warriors are not the baby of the association. Mighty Warriors belong to Zifa but we are not saying we will have nothing to do with you, we are saying we will be involved but we will be very clear as to our involvement and our critical involvement should be to develop players that will fly the Zimbabwean flag high.”
The 44-year-old Harare businesswoman and football administrator said the game has become big business and there was need for women to be involved.
“My interest is football and my interest is women, so put together it’s very passionate interest because football is big business globally,” said Sibanda.
“And women are usually left out where big business is hence my wanting to be involved in women’s football is to be part of the big business.
“To have women participate in football because football is a beautiful game that has many facets and it is a vehicle for development, it’s a platform for social change.
“So it’s basically coming into football to try and work with both men and women to increase the participation of women in women’s football.”
Sibanda said if elected into office the first 100 days are critical for maping the way forward and there should be tangible results within those days.
She added there was need to involve all stakeholders to ensure that there was accountability in the way the game is administered.
“I will give myself 100 days from my date of election to say you are free to say Mai Sibanda can we take stock of what you have done in the first 100 days. There must be tangible change within 100 days.
“Within the first 100 days we should be able to see structures at provincial level, regional level, one should be able to go to the regions and ask for minutes of meetings and maybe be able to get two or three reports.
“We should be able to get log fixtures and match reports at national level.
“The National Super League should be playing within the first 100 days of my being in office. Those are the tangible things because those are the things that I have picked up from people who have put in so much time and effort into football, those are the things that are close to their hearts, those are the things that are of concern to them.
“They want to see the National Super League played. They want to be meeting as women’s football in their regions, in their provinces and also at national level.
“We need to come up with a strategic plan. We should in those first 100 days have had induction courses, just basic induction courses of what is it that we want to do as women football so that we share a common vision, so that we are able to stop and say ‘Hello Mat North, where are you vis-a-vis Goal A.’
“We can only hold each other to account if we have agreed on where we want to go,” said Sibanda.
The former journalist, who has been involved in football for the past decade in various capacities, believes she has the experience derived from being a sponsor to a club owner that will come handy if she is elected into office.
“I have run a men’s team, I know what it’s like to have to find transport money for players, I know what it’s like when a player gets injured, I know what it’s like to lose a game because of poor officiating and I know what it’s like to win against the odds,” said Sibanda.
“So I think that experience will help me better understand club owners. I would be able to understand coaches better because I interact with my own coaches at club level, so I can ask and understand a bit of the technical aspects of coaching.
“I also understand why it’s important to play good football because I know what it’s like to go into a stadium expecting great entertainment value and you come out disappointed because the players didn’t give it all their best, the referees didn’t know what they were doing.”
Online Reporter