‘Stop grudges in sport’

Ngqwele Dube Sports Correspondent
SPORTS, Arts and Culture Minister Andrew Langa says it is critical for people not to bring old grudges to the current football setup as that is likely to destroy the game.
Langa’s comments come in the wake of a petition presented to him by the Zimbabwe National Soccer Supporters Association (ZNSSA) and the Lifelong Footballers Trust of Zimbabwe (Liftz) who were urging his Ministry to disband the Zimbabwe Football Association Board that was ushered into office through elections held in March last year.

Langa confirmed receiving the petition, in which those in the forefront, among other things, accuse the Cuthbert Dube-led board of abusing the annual Fifa grants.

In an interview on Friday at a city hotel where he had called a Press conference related to the African Union Sports Council Region 5 Under-20 Youth Games, Langa said he would only be able to make an informed decision after going through the document.

“Yes, I received the petition from the Lifelong Footballers Trust and the 18-page document is there in my office but I am still studying it and its implications. (But) I should hasten to say it is critical that we do not bring old grudges into football because that is not good for the game. We should bury old hatchets and move forward, there shouldn’t be perpetual squabbling,” said Langa.

He was, however, quick to point out that he would crack the whip if there was any wrong-doing on the part of those mandated to run football in the country.

Langa said in previous meetings with the country’s football governing body, it was agreed they (Zifa) would implement “various proposals”. And in the event that they were found wanting in that respect, the Ministry “will certainly crack the whip”.

There are fears, however, that the country will find itself on the sidelines if Government meddled in football. The Fifa statutes are clear that any Government intervention in the affairs of a national football association affiliated to it would result in an automatic suspension of the said country from all Fifa-sanctioned games.

Ironically, some within football circles are already questioning the wisdom of the petition arguing that it was coming from failed administrators who were now showing their ignorance of both Zifa and Fifa statutes.

“Fifa rules are clear and they don’t allow the removal of an elected board whether through a vote of no confidence or Government intervention. That leads to automatic expulsion and usual if a country is re-admitted the very same executive would be allowed back into office unless the removal (of the executive) was connected to criminal activities,’’ said a football administrator, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

“Anyone who brings in politics to football is automatically expelled even if it is a sitting board chairman,” he added.

According to media reports, the footballers trust argues that Zifa is in shambles because the Zifa board has been abusing Fifa funds.

The obscure grouping also alleges that the current Zifa Board had been abusing funds which has seen the debt of the local football mother ballooning “from $600 000 to $7 million” since the Dube-led board took over the from the Wellington Nyatanga led one in 2010.

Liftz and the ZNSSA also urged the Ministry to follow the example set by the Cameroonian government which suspended its national football association over the team’s poor performance at last year’s World Cup in Brazil.

“As a country we need to follow the precedence set by the Cameroonian government which suspended the national football association board for the team’s poor performance at the last World Cup and replaced it with a Normalisation Committee to restructure football and now the positive results are there for all to see. This is what we all need to do in Zimbabwe,” read the petition.

“To remove Zifa from the murky waters it is in right now, there is a need for the Minister to appoint a Normalisation Committee to administer and restructure Zifa. The Honourable Minister needs to suspend the current Zifa board as a matter of urgency and replace it with a credible team of dedicated volunteers composed of former players, experienced technocrats and professionals.”

Some of the proposed members of the “Zifa Normalisation Committee” include a number of past football administrators who include former Lancashire Steel FC administrator and PSL secretary-general Mwandibuya Mutepfa, former Highlanders vice-chairman Elkanah Dube, and former FC Platinum chairman Nathan Shoko, Stanley Kudenga, who was part of the administration of former PSL outfit Eagles FC, Joseph Paganga, a former referee and administrator, Charlie Jones, Paddington Japajapa, a former Women’s soccer administrator who is now the ZNSSA communications and public relations officer and Elizabeth Banda who was once part of the local women’s soccer administration.

However, there are questions on the extent of Government intervention in football affairs as it (Government) has failed to fund the country’s most popular sport with Zifa having to borrow to finance the national teams’ travels.

Langa, however, said the Government will this year be setting aside a budget for national teams which will be shared across sporting disciplines but he could neither reveal the amounts nor the formula to be used in doling out the funds.

“We have a budget for national teams this year but at the moment I cannot reveal the figure but it will be a cake that will be shared among the various teams that would be representing the country,” he said.

This is not the first time that calls are being made for the Government to dissolve Zifa as there seems to be a cartel that is ganging up against the Dube-led board as some immediately called for investigations into elections that ushered the board into office last year in March.

Minister Langa was also called upon to disband the Zifa board following the Warriors’ dismal performance in the 2015 Afcon qualifiers that saw the national team being booted out in the preliminaries.

However, the Minister resisted the calls and at the time he was quoted saying: “What will such a move achieve? Why should we throw away the baby together with the bath water?

“We all know how Fifa reacts when a government interferes with the running of football and we will not be pressured into making a decision that will be detrimental to Zimbabwean football.”