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Eddie Chikamhi Senior Sports Reporter
THE ZIFA Normalisation Committee have revealed they still have a lot in their plate and could need more time to execute their mandate after spending the first six months fixated on internal analysis, which took longer than expected.
The committee’s chairperson Lincoln Mutasa, his deputy Cynthia Malaba and chief executive officer Yvonne Mapika Manwa, yesterday faced the media for the first time since their appointment last July, to update the nation on the journey travelled.
Mutasa said they were satisfied with the progress made by his committee after setting in motion the restructuring of the office ZIFA administration, hosting the African Schools Football Championship, appointing the national teams’ coaches, participating in the FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifiers, staffing the women’s football desk, forging working relationships with football legends, conducting a club licensing workshop and beginning the process of constitutional review which will lead to elections.
However, the committee has often come under severe criticism for the slow pace with which they have been dealing with the fundamentals of their mandate.
“The first six months focused on internal analysis and of course it took longer than we expected,” Mutasa told journalists.
“The rest of our tenure will be on building football from grassroots to the formulation of the congress. It is important that you get the picture of what we have done since our appointment in July 2023, where we are now, and what we intend to accomplish before paving way for the election of a board. Despite obvious challenges that we have faced, we have managed to accomplish notable things to set the tone for the critical period ahead.”
The ZIFA Normalisation Committee was appointed by FIFA in July last year and was instructed to complete its mandate latest by June 30, 2024.
Some of its duties include:
- To run the daily affairs of ZIFA.
- To restructure the ZIFA administration.
- To establish, with the help of FIFA, a collaboration agreement between the Ministry of Sport/the SRC and ZIFA, which will define the responsibilities and objectives of each party, including (but not exclusively) on the topic of sexual harassment.
- 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; to act as an electoral committee in order to organise and conduct elections of a new ZIFA board based on the newly aligned ZIFA statutes and electoral code.
- To ensure a proper financial handover to the new ZIFA board.
However, six months down the line, most of the tasks are yet to be completed and it looks the ZIFA elections may not be held within the prescribed timeframes as the process, which requires something up to five-six months has not started.
ZIFA are still to comply with both the local and the FIFA statutes They are still to review their outdated constitution and the electoral code as well as meeting other requirements like the presentation of fully audited books.
Asked about the prospects, Mutasa remained hopeful that they would manage. He said ZIFA are now seized with the formulation of the committee that will assist in tackling the constitutional review and the electoral code.
Once that is done, they will then be able to hold an annual general meeting to formalise everything needed to hold fresh elections in an enabling environment.
“We are hopeful that we will meet our mandate target dates in the sense that we now have a roadmap that we have come up with, and is targeted for us to finish within the next coming months.
“But the person who has the decision to extend (the mandate) or not is FIFA. It’s not us. I think FIFA are the ones who can say, well you are now fully compliant.
“As it is, there are a number of areas that we need to be fully compliant both with FIFA and even locally with SRC. As you know, with the two-three years of Covid-19 and FIFA suspension, a lot of things have not been complied with, which we are now working to address.
“If we can address them as quickly as yesterday, that’s fine. But some of them might take slightly longer. But it is our hope and wish that we bring back normality as quickly as possible.
“With regards to that road map, we still have to sit down as NC and then discuss it with FIFA to see if this is agreeable or not. Once we have finished discussing with FIFA we will be in a clearer position to tell whether we finish on June 30 or July 30 or whatever.
“In the next four weeks we will know the answer. We will share the road map with you once it’s agreed,” said Mutasa.
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