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Sports Reporter
ZIFA are set to acquire new headquarters, soon after receiving a FIFA forward grant for the project.
The association will also acquire offices for their Central and Eastern region.
The national association have an option to either buy property where they can have their headquarters, or secure land and build new offices, for themselves.
ZIFA once dumped their home in Harare under pressure from creditors, and rented offices at a complex owned by their former president, Philip Chiyangwa.
Under the FIFA Forward funds, the world football governing body provide support for football development in each of their member associations.
During Sepp Blatter’s time, the funds were disbursed through the Goal Projects.
Those associations whose financial records were in order benefited and invested into a number of non-movable projects.
ZIFA were then found wanting, making questionable investments, like the ZIFA Village, which is shunned by the national teams.
Felton Kamambo, the ZIFA president, this week told The Herald they made fresh applications for FIFA projects, after they completed paying off the legacy debt last year.
Another project which was approved last year and received funding from Zurich is the association’s restructuring.
This project seeks to professionalise ZIFA operations in relation to their human resources, football development and technical issues.
“We have already submitted (our request) and we are waiting for the approval of the figures and everything,’’ said Kamambo.
“We can buy land and erect a structure from scratch, or we can just buy already-built offices.
“We will also have our own offices in the Eastern and Central Region, since we already have ZIFA offices in the Southern Region.
“We are also likely to be awarded other projects, this year, and we will have full information on that soon.
“We are glad that we are completing projects, and getting more money, for other projects.’’
Although, ZIFA claim they have made all the payments owed to their creditors, some coaches are yet to be paid.
The coaches rejected the association’s payment method, which converted the United States dollar value, which they said they were owed to the Zimbabwe dollar at the then interbank rate.
The impasse, which also resulted in some organisations that had sourced air tickets for ZIFA refusing to accept the payment plan, was during the days when the local dollar and its US counterpart, was said to be at par.
Former Warriors coach, Callisto Pasuwa, is one of the coaches, who rejected the payment plan. Kamambo said the proposed new offices will be spacious enough to accommodate the entire football constituency, and help cut costs on rentals, for some of them.
He said even affiliates, such as the Premier Soccer League, could save quite a huge chunk of money, from rentals, if they chose to share office space, with the association.
“The new offices will help our game cut the bill on rentals, especially for those affiliates, which have been paying rentals, like the PSL,’’ said the ZIFA boss.
“Even right now, we can assist the PSL, if they request, we can co-habit with them at our offices, while we work on acquiring bigger headquarters.
“They are welcome.
“We understand that clubs have been affected by Covid-19,” and it is not going to be business as usual, in terms of finances.”
The PSL last year made an application for their land, to build their headquarters, from the Harare City Council.
Earlier this month, the City Council revealed they were finalising an offer, to provide the PSL with land, to build their headquarters.
Stewart Mutizwa, the acting Harare City Mayor, also said they were ready to enter into partnerships, with the top-flight league and their clubs, in a number of partnerships, which would benefit both parties.
“As Harare City Council, we believe that the PSL should not be a briefcase organisation, they should have a place which they can be able to call their own,’’ Mutizwa said.
“We are aware that the organisation should meet the standards, and the basic requirement for them to have their own place, where they conduct administrative duties from.
“As Council, we have allocated a 5000 square metre land to the PSL in Strathaven for them to build their offices.
“There are so many advantages for an organisation of this magnitude to have its own property.’’
Farai Jere said the allocation of office space will go a long way in addressing professionalism within the game.
“The mayor promised that they will be handing us the land, to construct our PSL offices,’’ he said.
“This is a huge leap, in our quest, to become a professional organisation.
“Just imagine that the clubs, which are under us, are supposed to be meeting club licensing requirements, including owning their own club houses, yet we don’t even have a place that we call our own.
“We should be seen to be leading by example and, in my manifesto in 2018, I promised that when I get elected, the issue of a PSL head office would be top of my priority list.
“I can’t afford to leave without fulfilling this promise.’’
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