When the storm is over . . .

Limukani Ncube Off The Ball
“And once the storm is over, you won’t remember how you made it through, how you managed to survive. You won’t even be sure, whether the storm is really over. But one thing is certain. When you come out of the storm, you won’t be the same person who walked in. That’s what this storm’s all about.”
The above is a quotable quote by a Japanese writer, Haruki Murakami, and it aptly sums up the aftermath of the Zifa elections which were a dog-eat-dog by any standards.

The elections had the nation spell bound, and the talk in the streets was that Zimbabweans expected a change of leadership, but that was street talk, yet football business is done differently. A small number of people decide on behalf of all of us who should run the game, and there is nothing we can do about it.

In the same token, we got another quotable quote from Information Minister Professor Jonathan Moyo who after Cuthbert Dube retained his presidency said it should be stated that “ without fear or favour that the outcome of these elections was indecent and defied all rationality and purpose. What exactly was endorsed by this scandalous vote?”

Prof Moyo said Zimbabwe’s football was in the doldrums under Dube’s charge, adding the Zifa boss had “nothing to show” for his reign in the last four years and “nothing different, new or better to offer. Zimbabwean soccer today is clearly in the doldrums in every respect with its administration characterised by breath-taking chaos, incompetence and corruption with no precedence since our independence in 1980. The notion that the Zifa electorate voted for continuity is shamefully revealing. Continuity of what else besides naked and embarrassing failure?

“For the first time, Zifa affairs have become personalised and corrupted to the detriment of the national interest, let alone the values and ethos of the beautiful game. An example of this rot is how some elements within the Zifa leadership have had no shame in arrogantly boasting that they have been underwriting Zifa from their own personal pockets. Why would anyone use their own money from their own pockets to meet Zifa expenses? How deep are these pockets? What is the source of income of these deep and generous pockets?

“And if anyone has deep pockets to pay for all manner of Zifa expenses, does it not stand to reason that they can also buy their re-election to the Zifa leadership? And so, as we congratulate the winners of the Zifa election, it must also be pointed out that nobody is fooled by this circus whose corruption in terms of moral irresponsibility was exposed by the outcome of the election. The Zifa electorate has prepared a bed full of thorns and they must now lie on that bed themselves and perhaps with the leadership it voted for.  Nobody else, particularly the general public, football supporters or even sponsors, should be expected to lie on that thorny and dirty bed. The buck should stop with the indecent outcome of the scandalous election.”

You don’t get them as hard hitting and biting as from the Professor, but the tragedy of the beautiful game is that it has its own rules that protect it, and it protecting it, those rules also protect those who run it. In as much as the public may cry foul of the leadership, there is little it can do to remove it.

Football is the number one sport in the world and you certainly can not expect governments to stand aloof, but world football governing body, Fifa, came up with statues to protect itself and its affiliates from government bashing. Should any government take the tough road of dissolving the board, Fifa, which crafted  rules so as to protect itself too, will respond negatively by suspending the country from all competitions, as what happened to other countries for what was deemed “government interference.”

As the storm died down, Ashford Mamelodi, Fifa development officer for Southern and Eastern Africa, said  they were pretty happy with the election outcome.
“I came here to attend a general assembly part of which the elections was one item and I should say it went very well, it was an important day in football.  For us at Fifa we have just helped Zifa to come up with a new constitution and implement it. It was so successful and quite gratifying.  The election went well, absolutely well.

The electoral board did a sterling job and they really need to be congratulated for that.  We at Fifa are very happy that the new Zifa board has been properly elected in terms of the statutes and we stand ready to support that. ”

So Fifa has endorsed the polls, in which the new Zifa board will have Dube as the president and will be deputised by Bulawayo businessman Omega Sibanda while John Phiri, Fungai Chihuri, Bernard Gwarada and Tavengwa Hara were other  board members elected on Saturday. They will be joined by PSL president Twine Phiri, Women’s Soccer League boss Miriam Sibanda, Southern Region chairman Musa Mandaza, Eastern Region chairman , Pairaishe Mabhena, Northern Region chairman Willard  Manyengavana and Central Region chairman Felton Kamambo.

The run up to the elections  certainly tore football followers apart, but now that they have come and gone, it is time to look to the future. Dube and his board should also take criticism bravely, and correct their mistakes and forge new partnerships with stakeholders that matter for the betterment of the game. Sport and football to be precise, is meant to unite people and it should always remain that vehicle, and a source of entertainment and livelihood as well.

As vice-president Sibanda put it during the week, it is time to disengage the election mode and engage with various stakeholders so that Zimbabweans rally behind the game they love. Everybody who participated in the elections loves football, and they should be allowed to continue participating one way or the other. However, we should not forget football has its own rules and regulations to be followed, and in expressing feelings, those bound by those rules should remember that.

Nonetheless, those who wronged each other should shake hands, just like football players do on the field of play and then get on with business because football must be the winner at the end of the day. In fact, what is important is what happens after the storm, and we all know, no body remains the same after the storm!

For comment and contributions email [email protected]. You can also follow this writer on Twitter and Facebook.