‘Zifa technical director post not an easy task’

NATIONAL University of Science and Technology (Nust) lecturer Doctor Joseph Sibindi has given hints as to what the modern day Zimbabwe Football Association Technical Director should be.

With this the national association Zifa may have a tough assignment sifting through the applicants and arriving at the best candidate. Zifa are under pressure from both Caf and Fifa to have the post, a very crucial one in the structures of administration, filled in the shortest possible time.

Last week Zifa Normalisation Committee chairman Lincoln Mutasa said the delay in finalising the appointment was as a result of the Cosafa Schools Under-15 qualifiers for the continental championships which start tomorrow.

Sibindi a qualified coach and instructor who is also a sports scientist at Nust, said the right technical director is someone with a background of andragogy.

“We mean he should have a background of dealing with the teaching of adults, adult learning is different from how children learn. There are specific principles or theories that guide adult education. Their application in andragogy or specifically coach education is vital,” said the respectable sports science lecturer. and Zifa Province Division two side Nust coach.

Sibindi who is the coach of Nust football team which is Division Two, said computer literacy was one of the requirements for one to qualify.

“Computer literacy is key as most of the meetings, seminars or workshops are now conducted online. Assignments and video tasks may be sent via Caf or Fifa platforms and this demands a high level of computer literacy,” said Sibindi.

He said coaching experience or being a former player was no longer enough given the changed environment due to science and technology developments.

The Nust lecturer and football coach said the candidate must be able to write manuals at national and continental level for the development of the game. “The transformation of coach education through the Caf convention and adaptation of American and Eurocentic approaches to training for elite performance is the driving force. There are leading top level clubs that have established proper football trends,” said Sibindi.

He said many established coaches could fall out because of Caf and Fifa expectations. Both bodies usually want to invest in young coaches who will share their knowledge on the field for a long time.

Caf and Fifa are likely to accept mature coaches in their 40s and 50s who have a teaching background.

“Fifa spends more money on coach education and can’t afford to engage someone close to retirement,” said Sibindi.

Some of the Fifa instructors in the past have been in their 70s after several years of service to the game.

A recent course in coach education in Zambia had attendants mostly with first degrees and a majority found the content challenging. These were from Angola, Madagascar, Lesotho, Zambia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Botswamna, South Africa, Namibia, Tanzania and the Seychelles.

The next technical director for Zifa will be under pressure to draw up programmes to cope with Fifa and Caf education ideals that need implementation, monitoring and evaluation.

Coaches with a teaching background stand a better chance to be appointed Zifa technical director.

Wilson Mutekede parted ways with Zifa last month after almost a decade in the post. He complained of poor funding for education programmes and that there was too much ‘politics’.

His predecessor Maxwell Jongwe appeared to have done well to get as many teachers trained up to Caf A level.