Zifa meets on constitutional reforms

Ngqwele Dube, Sports Correspondent
ZIFA is set to meet its affliates tomorrow to discuss constitutional reforms and amendments of the bodies.

The meeting will be attended by Zimbabwe Women’s Football, Premier Soccer League and executives of Zifa’s four regions.

A Zifa official, who declined to be named, said the meeting is in preparation for the upcoming congress scheduled for December 16.

The official said there had been talks of affiliates aligning their constitutions with Zifa’s, but that had not yet been implemented.

“We need to be on the same page with the affiliates as we head to the AGM where the alignments are going to be discussed thoroughly and adopted. People need to know the changes that need to be made and this will also give them time to consult their members before the AGM where the new constitutions will be ratified,” the official said.

Zifa has clashed with some of its affiliates, notably the PSL, over variance in their constitutions.

The latest impasse saw Zifa questioning the PSL’s role in handling disciplinary hearings on misdemeanours committed by PSL clubs, players and coaches, arguing that only the football governing body should hear such matters and mete out punishment.

The long awaited Zifa AGM will be held in Harare, with a notice of 20 agenda items having already been sent to affiliates.

Besides regular items on the agenda, other issues set to be discussed include constitutional amendments, elections and dismissal of members of the Judicial and electoral committees as well as strategic and sport-political matters.

The suspension of Highlanders chairman Peter Dube is likely to come under discussion.

Dube was suspended last year in November over what Zifa termed “inappropriate conduct during a Zifa congress on October 29, 2016”, but many have viewed his sanction as unfair and lacking merit.

He had been expected to face disciplinary proceedings, but Zifa officials later said the matter would be dealt with at congress.

Despite lifting suspensions on other administrators that had been sanctioned for various offences, the Zifa leadership has maintained that only the assembly can deal with Dube’s case.

The meeting could see Dube bouncing back into football, although his term at Highlanders comes to an end in January next year when the club is expected to elect a new chairman, secretary and committee member.