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MOST former footballers are living a wretched life, not because they misused their earnings, but because their welfare was taken for granted, a local football legend has said.
Former national team goalkeeper Gift “Umbro” Muzadzi fears the trend could continue if the ZIFA Congress elects “mafia-type football administrators who are out to loot and disappear.”
Muzadzi featured in the 1998 CAF Champions League with Dynamos and says he was also a victim of a “greedy administration.”
He was also part of the Warriors cast at the 2006 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt.
Now a goalkeepers’ trainer, Muzadzi has urged ZIFA councillors to vote “with their brains and not their tummies on Saturday.”
During the elections, the Congress will choose a president, his two deputies, and six ordinary board members.
Nqobile Magwizi, Twine Phiri, Philemon Machana, Martin Kweza, Makwinji Soma-Phiri, and Marshall Gore are fighting for the top post.
“Our football now needs successful businessmen with a traceable record who can bring their network and links to ZIFA,” says Muzadzi. Yesterday Muzadzi became the latest in a string of high-profile football personalities to back the Harare business for the ZIFA presidency.
Former Warriors captains Moses “Bambo” Chunga and Esrom Nyandoro, ex-Dynamos skipper Murape Murape, and 1996 Soccer Star of the Year Stewart “Shutto” Murisa have already endorsed Magwizi.
Current national team captain, Marvelous Nakamba, also hinted strongly that he would want a leader in the mould of Magwizi.
“Football is now a huge industry; it’s big business, so we need people who are business-minded, not people who are targeting to benefit from ZIFA.
“Zimbabwe has the potential to develop into one of the best football nations in Africa; we have the talent; we only lack in administration,” said Muzadzi. “I’ve known Magwizi for the past five or six years, and what he has done for football and its players means a lot, although he was not in the front row.
“He is one man who is concerned about the players’ welfare, and at ZIFA we need a leader with players at heart,” says Muzadzi.
“Magwizi did a lot in helping teams like Dynamos and Highlanders, although he was doing it behind the scenes.
“He is a guy who is successful in his own businesses and at the same time has a big heart. He questioned the rationale behind recycling leaders at ZIFA.
“We have had several administrators coming to ZIFA, but they turned a blind eye to issues to do with players’ welfare.
“I played for the biggest club in the country and reached the CAF Champions League final. I also represented the country, but if you look at it, the administrators who were there were just thinking about themselves.
“They were after lining up their pockets.
“Some were in the previous ZIFA set-ups, and they want to come back again. We now need new people with new ideas.
“Truly speaking, whether people will hate or like me, some of the people are pushing to get into ZIFA so that they can have access to those FIFA grants and enrich themselves.
“But they forget we have players who need to be well taken care of; players need better packages so that they can also have a proper retirement plan. “Footballers have just names and nothing else to offer.
“ZIFA is not a place for greedy people; we want people who are determined to change the face of our football.
“That’s why I am endorsing Magwizi, and I am urging those voting to prioritise the future of our football.
“We want leaders who will think of that young boy or girl out there in Gwanda, Honde Valley, Buhera, Birchenough Bridge, Binga, and all the farming and mining areas.
“All the budding footballers out there should benefit from FIFA grants because that money is for grassroots development and not for individuals.
“Football has gone down not because we don’t have good talent. The problem is people forget that the machine, which in this case are players, needs to be oiled.”
Muzadzi thinks social vices like drug and substance abuse are taking their toll on young boys and girls “because they have nothing to do. Interestingly, as Muzadzi was rallying support for Magwizi, the businessman was also celebrating his birthday.
Magwizi has had many different birthday anniversaries in the last 45 years that he has lived.
But yesterday he had a unique birthday, one in which he had to shelve all festivities associated with such an occasion.
Instead, the renowned entrepreneur, business leader, and philanthropist was in the football trenches winding off a charm offensive in which he has been on a whirlwind campaign tour to secure the mandate of ZIFA councillors so that he can become the association’s next substantive president on Saturday. Barring any last-minute glitches or court injunctions, ZIFA’s watershed executive committee elections, the first since the 2018 polls, will go ahead unhindered.
And those who are backing Magwizi to become the next ZIFA president after Felton Kamambo believe the date of the elections, coming just three days after his birthday, “is a good omen for his candidature.
“Nqobile’s football life is dedicated to giving to the sport, hence his transformative approach to turning ZIFA into a professional, respected, and marketable brand if voted into office. “So, winning the ZIFA elections and giving Nqobile the mandate to lead the association into a new era could be the biggest present that football can bequeath to him,” a member of the Magwizi camp said.
“A deeply religious man, Magwizi has, apart from football, committed his life to promoting economic growth and social development in Zimbabwe and the broader African region. “He boasts of a track record in diverse sectors that include advertising, marketing, infrastructure, property development, commodities, finance, broadcasting, and public relations.
He must outpace Ex-Highlanders and Dynamos striker Makwinji Soma-Phiri, Martin Kweza, former CAPS United owner Twine Phiri, Philemon Machana, and football agent Marshal Gore in the race to administer ZIFA.
“We are hoping and praying that should he win as we expect him to, then it will be a double celebration for his victory and belated birthday celebrations.
Online Reporter