Online Reporter
Fungai Muderere, Zimpapers Sports Hub
ZIFA and the Sports Writers Association (Swaz) wrapped up their one-day workshop in Bulawayo yesterday, a session that left many journalists with a clearer understanding of the country’s football gaps and the work still to be done. The conversations were frank, ranging from coaching shortages to the quality of analysis in local match coverage.
Among the speakers was Zifa Technical Director Dominique Niyonzima, who raised alarm over the country’s shallow pool of qualified coaches.
He revealed that Zimbabwe has fewer than 300 licensed coaches — a figure he described as far too low for a football nation of this size.
“It’s a pity that in Zimbabwe, we don’t have more than 300 qualified football coaches. In that regard, we aim to train between 500 and 2 000 coaches.
“It has been about seven years since courses were abandoned, and unfortunately, we have focused more on producing players rather than coaches,” said Niyonzima, who took over from Jethro Hunidzamira in August this year.
He added: “Zimbabwe has 76 qualified Confederation of African Football (Caf) A licence holders. We will need more coaches, especially in schools, who should at least hold Caf C licences.”
This was the second such workshop held by the football mother body after a similar engagement with Swaz Northern Region members in Harare last week.
Zifa Marketing Committee Vice-Chairman Ronald Moyo said the partnership with sportswriters was part of a broader push to strengthen the football economy. “We have a lot of work to do — so many projects regarding the sports economy. These are conversations we still need to have as time goes on,” he said.
Celebrated former referee Sabelo Maphosa-Sibindi also took journalists through the laws of the game and the key principles of match analysis.
“I’m grateful for the beautiful engagements we had with the journalists,” said Maphosa-Sibindi.
“We are looking forward to similar sessions across the country. I hope journalists will apply the key factors of analysis in match incidents,” she added.
Seasoned journalist Brian Nkiwane, speaking on football journalism, encouraged reporters to sharpen their craft by enrolling for coaching badges and administrators’ courses.
He said the added knowledge would help them tackle football issues with sharper insight. Nkiwane also stressed the importance of research-based reporting. — @FungaiMuderere
