Zim soccer economy in a depression

either a satellite office for a well established administration located somewhere in the central business district or a ticketing office.
The lack of progress in the development of Zifa House is a mirror image of an embattled soccer economy in the country.
So battered is our soccer economy that the maintenance of such a status quo has become a symbol of a doomed sporting discipline.
When one mentions the word “ball” in Zimbabwe, what quickly comes to mind is football. However, the way the sport continues to be managed in the country leaves a lot to be desired.
It is one of the disciplines which loses more money than it gains despite the huge following it enjoys over any other sporting discipline in the country.
Very few writers believe soccer is a business which can benefit the economy besides its aesthetic value in the form of entertainment and patriotism it inculcates in all Zimbabweans.
During his recent presentation at the launch of the Medium Term Plan, Deputy Prime Minister Professor Arthur Mutambara bemoaned politics as the reason for the sluggish performance of the economy.
Former United States president Bill Clinton is famed for having blamed the economy during the plebiscite debate which pitted him against George Bush Senior.
What or whom should we to blame for the plummeting standards of soccer development in the country? Can we say it’s the referees or Fifa?
The world over, football is no longer viewed as a source of entertainment only. Most metropolitan cities are receipting their popularity through hosting organised clubs such as Mamelodi Sundowns in South Africa, Manchester United in Manchester in Britain, Inter Milan in Milan of Italy and Real Madrid in Madrid, Spain.
It is no longer complete to talk about attractions in Madrid without mentioning the respective soccer clubs based in that country which also includes Barcelona.
Our soccer economy has been run down due to lack of clearcut policies on how to run the beautiful game. There is virtually lack of professionalism in the way most of Zimbabwe’s soccer clubs are managed.
Greed ahead of business ethics has come to define the everyday culture at most clubs.
Most clubs are changing coaches without a clear roadmap on how to salvage meaningful wins as the recycling of same old faces on the boardroom structures and coaching positions is concerned.
Media reports had been suggesting that some coaches are paid as little as US$300 per month and these are clubs with a staggering debt exceeding their balance sheet sizes which makes them technically insolvent.
The case of Dynamos Football Club is no laughing matter. Despite the club’s claim that it has seven million supporters in a nation of around 12 million people, there is virtually nothing to show that this is the biggest team in the country.
If the financial state of this club is what being a non-profit-making organisation means, it becomes certainly suicidal to adopt such a business philosophy.
This is a club which requires an overhaul in its style of management. What is the basis of unbridled powers to the so-called founders of the club if their names and voices are only heard during boardroom struggles?
Every time the soccer club is engaged in continental assignments, stories of an imminent failure to fulfil the international fixtures due to lack of funds always loom.
The solution lies in selling the potentially stronger brand to the private sector and I believe a lot of well-meaning entrepreneurs will be in the wings to grab the deal. It is only recently when we heard the seven million supporters club is in trouble after one of their sponsors petitioned the Deputy Sheriff to attach the club’s property in a bid to recover a mere US$6 800.
The amount is reported to have been advanced to the club in March of 2009 to buy football kits but the club defaulted on the repayment.
In the business cycle of soccer, the domestic standards are certainly beyond recession, which makes it a depression.
In sharp contrast just across the Limpopo River, South Africa’s most flamboyant soccer club, Kaizer Chiefs under the leadership of Kaizer Motaung, is setting new standards in soccer administration in the region.
Despite the recent emergence of the maverick businessman Patrice Motsepe’s Sundowns Mamelodi from the shadows, Kaizer Chiefs still leads the pack.
The club generated a profit after tax of about R7 million last year, which qualifies it for a listing.
Turnover was estimated at about R50 million consisting of sponsorship from sportswear manufacturer Reebok and oil company Total, gate takings, sales of club merchandise and club membership fees.
Management structures at the club are so well pronounced. However, despite its riches Kaizer Chief’s performance on the field of play is nowhere near that of Dynamos especially in terms of continental tournaments.
Motor Action remains one of the most organised clubs in the country but it is a far cry from standards at other African club giants that include Asec Mimosas of Abidjan, Zanaco of Zambia, Hearts of Oak of Ghana and TP Mazembe of the DRC.
The irony of it is some of the mentioned clubs are based in countries whose economies are inferior to ours but proper economic management of finances is what sets them apart.
How on earth can Platinum Stars, which is a rookie in Zimbabwe’s Premier League, offer attractive packages to players than the top clubs, which include CAPS United, Highlanders and Zimbabwe Saints?
An SOS definitely has to come from the Sports Ministry of Mr Coltart to expose irregularities which con-
tinues dogging Zimbabwean football.
Last Sunday when Zimbabwe soccer team played the Lone Star of Liberia, a foreigner could have been forgiven for confusing the match as featuring Bafana Bafana and Liberia.
This was due to a swathe of South Africa national soccer team jerseys, which were being worn by Zimbabwean fans. This was the only sportswear that was available that was close to the Warriors golden colours.
I believe that this is an unforgiveable shortcoming on the part of the Zifa administration as it borders on sabotage. The entire Zifa board should not be allowed to have another day in office after bringing the patriotic tag in to disrepute due to their anachronistic and antiquated business approach.
This was a great marketing opportunity for Zifa and a chance to beef up their coffers. Do we need a Chinese firm to cash on our patriotism through the mass production of the miniscule Zim-flags. The collective turnover of Barclays Premier League’s 20 clubs in England is close to £3 billion which almost equals Zimbabwe’s Gross Domestic Product. In November last year, Arsenal football club’s single share was valued at £13 000 each.
In the same year, the operating profit before depreciation and player trading stood at £12,6 million.
Even with Arsene Wenger’s side cup drought, the bottom line at the North London club continues making him a darling of almost the entire board.
After the club’s switch to the Emirates from Highbury, a sale of 50 apartments at Highbury square generated revenue of £22,5 million and an operating profit from property of £3,3 million. What a business model when our own Dynamos Football Club is failing to pay back a US$6 800 debt. The financial crisis, which hit the West since 2007, left the soccer industry decoupled from excess greed of Wall Street, London, Brussels and Athens.
The only evidence that soccer economy is not an island after all was the withdrawal of American Insurance Group (AIG) as the official sponsors of Manchester United after recording a record quarterly corporate loss of US$67 million in 2007. The year ended June 30 saw the Red Devils posting a record annual operating profit of £110,9 million and revenue of £334,1 million.
Headline pre-tax profit came in at £29,7 million compared with a loss of £15 million last year.
The club has an £80 million shirt sponsorship deal with AON which is a figure enough to even resuscitate and activate our economy to an all-time high performance levels. A high level of organisation knows no national boundaries in terms of admiration, which could be the reason why most of the local soccer fans are donning English soccer kits even in non-soccer events.
A colleague normally jokes with me when he says if a Dynamos soccer player’s jersey is to be torn during the match, the solution lies in substituting the player since there won’t be a reserve kit. Come on Zimbabwe football, move out of that deliberate level of depression and employ a proper business approach.
Why recycling the same administrators and coaches with the same tactics when it is the same personnel who relegated not only their clubs but also the beautiful game to the international peripheries.
Thank You and God bless You.