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Zimpapers Sports Hub
THE Lincoln Mutasa-led ZIFA Normalisation Committee’s term of office ends today and, barring any late drama the world soccer governing body, FIFA, is expected to unveil a new team to complete all the unfinished business over nine months.
FIFA head of Africa Gelson Fernandes is expected to guide the unveiling of new plans, with Tuesday being the tentative day for another new beginning.
Everything seems to point to a new-look line-up to steer the ZIFA ship.
On July 11, 2023, FIFA revealed Mutasa’s team, eventually consisting of his deputy Cynthia Malaba, together with committee members Rosemary Mugadza, Nyasha Sanyamandwe and Sikhumbuzo Ndebele, who were given a year to implement reforms and direct football in the right direction. Malaba was not included in the original line-up, but later joined as the second in command.
“The period of time during which the normalisation committee will perform its functions will expire as soon as it has fulfilled all of its duties, but by June 30, 2024 at the latest,” said FIFA as they announced the lifting of Zimbabwe’s 18-month ban and installation of Mutasa’s Normalisation Committee (NC).
They were given six duties:
(1) To run the daily affairs of Zifa.
(2) To restructure the Zifa administration.
(3) To establish, with the help of FIFA, a collaboration agreement between the Ministry of Sport/Sports and Recreation Commission (SRC) and ZIFA, which will define the responsibilities and objectives of each party, including (but not exclusively) on the topic of sexual harassment.
(4) To review the ZIFA Statutes and Electoral Code to ensure their compliance with the FIFA statutes and requirements, and to ensure their adoption by the ZIFA Congress.
(5) To act as an electoral committee in order to organise and conduct polls for a new Zifa board based on the newly aligned ZIFA Statutes and Electoral Code; and
(6) To ensure a proper financial handover to the new ZIFA board.
In two separate interviews this month, Mutasa argued that they had achieved 70 percent success with regard to the mandate they got from FIFA and this is despite failing to hold elections and the chaos bedevilling the national soccer teams.
Critics insist the reforms that were supposed to be anchored by the implementation of proper governance systems have not taken place as, for example, there is not even a roadmap to elections for all affiliate structures.
On the technical side, the ZIFA NC have been unable to put systems for long-term football development. There is nothing that would allow the national teams — the Warriors, the Mighty Warriors and the respective Young Warriors and Young Mighty Warriors — to be competitive.
Also, one of the key conditions given to the committee over the reform process was that they needed to sign a memorandum of understanding with the Government/ SRC.
The SRC have been clear that the agreement is yet to be signed.
And given that there have not been elections, it means there cannot be a proper financial handover to a new ZIFA board.
That means Mutasa’s committee only managed two out of six duties — running the daily affairs of ZIFA and restructuring the administration.
This probably explains why, barring late drama, the committee is being replaced, as opposed to having its term extended.
FIFA’s team responsible for Zimbabwe have not been impressed. Last week the ZIFA NC was forced to drop five people who had been included in a bloated support staff list for the Cosafa Cup in South Africa.
It is also understood that FIFA stopped Mutasa’s committee from appointing a substantive Warriors coach recently on the basis that there would be a new interim leadership at ZIFA, who would rather do the appointment.
Last month, Mutasa hinted at some discomfort in their working relationship with the FIFA head of development programmes in Africa, Solomon Mudege, amid claims he has been using the ZIFA Secretariat to keep the interim local football leadership in check.
It was alleged Mudege was using the ZIFA chief executive, also known as general secretary (GS), Yvonne Mapika-Manwa, and FIFA Forward manager Kudzi Chitima to micro-manage Zimbabwean football ahead of the ZIFA NC appointed in July last year.
In a meeting held in France early this year, Mudege told the ZIFA NC that FIFA would interact with the national association through Mapika-Manwa, and not Mutasa’s five-member interim leadership.
“For us, we were in Paris, I think in January, February this year where we met up with the NC and the FIFA grouping and there it was made very clear by Mr Mudege that the communication with ZIFA is not going to be with the NC, but with madam Manwa,” said Mutasa.
“So, for us, at least with me, it was very clear that this is going to be the channel of communication. It’s just a matter of making sure that what we want is, when the GS speaks to FIFA, have we been informed as the NC?
“Has the executive committee been informed that this is the decision we are taking and we are moving forward?
“This to me is just a governance issue, a communication issue, which, once fully understood, I think will help the organisation going forward.”
Again this seemed to suggest a fallout between the ZIFA NC and the FIFA team in charge of the Zimbabwe affairs.
Failing to get the election process underway and failing to make the Warriors solid again meant that the ZIFANC’s relationship with football fans was also not a good one, especially judging by the feedback on the national association’s social media platforms.
This failure to impress both FIFAand the fans would mean a wasted year under the ZIFANormalisation Committee.
ZIFA are currently homeless, operating from rented premises in Harare as both ZIFA House on 53 Livingstone Avenue in Harare and the ZIFA Village in Mt Hampden were deemed uninhabitable. As if that was not enough for local football, the country has not had a CAF-approved match venue since Zimbabwe’s ban was lifted.
In mitigation, Mutasa says his team deserves credit for getting about 2 000 youth clubs from all over the country to be part of ZIFA; having the FIFA Football for Schools programme to encourage the sport to be played throughout the year, as opposed to just one term; and launching an annual CAF Under-15 tournament for both boys and girls.
He also says the ZIFA finances are now
back on schedule after they managed to reconstruct the 2021 accounts, which have been audited.
A new leadership will have its work cut out as the Warriors will soon begin their campaign for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, while the national association desperately needs a substantive executive committee through the election process.
Online Reporter