Zifa needs leadership more than money

Many spoke of his success with PSMAS as a benchmark. There was a company chief executive officer of proven business acumen and repute who would steer Zimbabwe football to great heights.
After almost a decade of image battering of the beautiful game and Zifa, everyone expected a new start. That looked in place with the entry of young administrators and other new faces in the game at Assembly level.
Hardly had the new council and board found its feet that division on regional lines came to the fore. Murmurings of vote buying were heard and the media as if gagged turned a deaf ear to that.
When voting it was as if councillors forgot what they were looking for. Soccer was and is still pressed for sponsorship and it appears in their minds they had a sponsor and not a Zifa president.
Sceptics doubt what Dube claims to have ploughed into the game. They argue that paying the national association’s bills direct from his pocket as well as meeting the Warriors’ travel expenses again from his pocket amounts to holding the soccer family to ransom.
The ideal candidate soccer needed was a man who would use his position and influence to change the corporate world’s perception of Zifa. A man or woman who was well connected who would attract sponsorship to soccer.
But alas two years down the line Zifa are still carrying a begging bowl. Dube and his colleagues have failed to deliver to expectations. The executive has instead spent more time trying to consolidate their influence and power at the expense of the game.
The recent incident whereby the Warriors nearly failed to travel to Botswana is a good example of why cries of appeal to help the game are getting louder. Soccer lovers are demanding that the Zifa executive should step down. The match was on the calendar two months before last weekend and it took the timely intervention of Mimosa Platinum Mine for the trip to materialise.
Dube cannot beat his chest and say if he had been around that could not have happened. It is the system he heads that is letting Zimbabwe football down.
Zifa needs able leadership more than money.
The game is bleeding from two years of abuse, two years of stagnation with hero worshipping being the order of the day.
There are allegations of rampant corruption at board level and it cascades down to gullible councillors some of whom are literally employed by the game and draw living allowances allegedly from some board members.
At times I wonder what people who were not known in the game 10 or 15 years ago at any level are doing in the executive.
Where are our real soccer people, men and women we have seen at club matches, meetings and other functions.
We have allowed a system whereby people with no clue as to what the game is all about lead us.
Zifa needs a serious and non-partisan review of itself to determine what it has achieved so far.
Sadly now there are attempts to mutilate the constitution to ensure certain people stay in office: Kangaroo courts such as the Bindura one where some councillors and hangers on (otitisi lezikhotha) resolved to position themselves for elections that they are pushing for this year.
At some stage it was as if the Southern Region board members Benedict Moyo, Ndumiso Gumede, Patrick Hokonya and Gift Banda were the worst enemies of the game.
Dube should keep his money or step down as Zifa chairman and come in as sponsor on behalf of his Buymore Enterprises. He can’t be sponsor and Zifa boss at the same time.
Soccer used to be good in the days when having money was not a factor. Ever since the advent of those with money, the standards of the beautiful game have been deteriorating with each passing day.
Now the verdict is yours.
Any organisation is as good as its leadership.