Zifa seek new beginning

the 2011 season in which many associations other than football met with mixed fortunes.
It has not been one of the best years in football on and off the field as confirmed by the latest Fifa rankings in which the national team closed the year on a disappointing 98th place.
Having begun on position 118, Zimbabwe experienced ups and downs during the year and were at their peak in September when they rose to number 66 in the world and 14th on the continent.
Zifa chief executive, Jonathan Mashingaidze, yesterday said the association operated in difficult situations against the undercurrents of the Asiagate betting and match-fixing scandal, underfunding and pressure from the football-loving community for the teams to deliver.
“It has been a difficult period considering the background we were coming from.
“Many things were happening that needed urgent attention at the same time and I have to salute the players for doing duty and withstanding the pressure.
“The national team played under a dark cloud with the Asiagate issue hovering over us but their performances later in the year proved to everyone that we are destined for a brighter future,” said Mashingaidze.
However, Zifa had few positives with the national teams this year.
A lot happened during the year, with the issue of the men’s national team coach being settled by the appointment of Norman Mapeza to end the confusion that had started the previous year with the failed attempt to hire Belgian Tom Saintfiet.
The Warriors failure to qualify for the 2012 African Cup of Nations in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea was the biggest disappointment that the nation had to endure in the wake of the confusion and divisions surrounding the campaign.
Zimbabwe were in the same group with Mali, Cape Verde and Liberia and finished third in the final standings, with Mali winning the group and getting the ticket to the 2012 finals.
They had also put up an uninspiring show earlier in the year when they failed to stamp their authority at the CHAN tournament in Sudan where they bowed out in an embarrassing fashion after losing to a South African development side. The men’s Under-23 team also had a failed campaign in the All-Africa Games campaign despite a promising start and doing well to reach the final round of the qualifiers against South Africa’s Baby Bafana.
However, the women’s team carried the flag high after qualifying for the All-Africa Games finals from the Southern Africa region.
The Mighty Warriors had a good year by their standards and have been improving along the road.
“Over and above it was a year filled with mixed fortunes coming from the background of our poor national team rankings at the beginning of the year, the betting and match-fixing scandals, our failure to qualify for the African Cup of Nations against the pressure coming from the supporters for the team to qualify.
“We also had a new board coming mid-stream after the previous had begun the campaign for the Afcon qualifiers. Financially the association was technically bankrupt yet we had many assignments that needed funding.
“Our teams were seriously underfunded as Zifa had to solely cater for all the expenses in the absence of assistance the corporate world. We have learnt our lessons from the experiences and we hope to use that for the better in our future endeavours.
“We just have to make sure that the teams are kept away from the vices such as match-fixing and also to see to it that they are well-resourced in terms of travel allowances and bonuses,” said Mashingaidze.