adminLovemore Dube, Senior Sports Editor
A NEW leadership is expected to take over in the Zifa Southern Region on Sunday when elections are held to replace a board led by retiring Morgan Dube. Dube, who had been acting Southern Region boss for two years after taking over from suspended Gift Banda, opted out of the race on moral grounds. He said he could not align himself to any camp to serve in football as he does not subscribe to factionalism.
With Dube out of the race, that left Mandlenkosi Moyo and Musa Mandaza to fight it out for the chairman’s post. Both candidates seem to have equal chances of winning.
Mandaza, who has held the same post before, is credited with the creation of the fourth Division One League — the Central Region — which saw a drastic reduction in travel costs for teams especially in the Southern Region and Midlands.
His opponent Moyo represents change. He is young and has never held public office apart from owning a club in that league. Like Mandaza, Moyo is confident that he will steer the sport in the region to dizzy heights.
Both have no clubs with an interest of gaining promotion to the Premiership and hence will be very fair to their subjects. The vice-chairman’s post will be a contest between Tawanda Ruzive and Gaylord Madhunguza.
Ruzive needs no introduction as he was treasurer in the last executive. Naturally he has unfinished business and is eager for another term to uplift football in the region where only clubs from Bulawayo and Hwange FC have taken turns to be promoted to the Premiership.
Madhunguza has been with ZPC Hwange. He will ride on clubs from Matabeleland North wanting to have a say in the running of affairs of the region. Ruzive’s other trump card is that there is a need for continuity. He has not declared his running mates while Madhunguza is with Mandaza and several others who have shown interest in landing the board member positions.
Jabulani Chinyangarara (Zimbabwe Saints), Tumediso Ndlovu (New West City), Sydney Madzvimbo (Blackboots), Khumbulani Mbano (Hwange Juniors), Bryton Malandule and Patrick Malunga (no clubs) are in the race for the board member positions.
Malandule, a former Zifa panel referee, was involved in the administration of partiality on the field as a match official. He brings financial management into the region and that could be his trump card as other candidates have no experience at all in accounting.
He has been a finance manager at listed companies before. Malunga is the fixtures’ secretary of the outgoing executive. He is a former Gwanda Ramblers defender and would bring football experience into the executive.
Mbano is relatively unknown and comes from a team whose administration is basically done by the parent sponsor — Hwange Colliery. Madzvimbo was secretary-general of the Dube executive having been voted last year to replace Brian Moyo who joined Zifa as education officer on a fulltime basis.
Ndlovu has been the brains behind New West City, a team founded in New Lobengula. It has produced a number of outstanding players. His appreciation of the region’s landscape and interest of the clubs as a club owner could add a different dimension to how the league is run.
If Chinyangarara loses it would probably be the “bad boy” tag associated with his club Zimbabwe Saints. Over the years they have struggled to be up to date with their affiliation fees.
Whoever wins, soccer should be the winner with the new board expected to take the league a notch up. Popular soccer commentator Omega Sibanda said people should be prepared to bury the hatchet after the elections.
“Sadly with elections not everyone can get in. Those who do not make it should work with the winners for the good of the game,” said Sibanda on Tuesday.
Online Reporter