Zimbabwe’s football revival: A long road to true liberation

“WE would like to inform you that, based on the decision taken by the Bureau of the Fifa Council on July 10, 2023, the suspension of Zifa has been lifted with immediate effect. In view of the above, all of Zifa’s membership rights as defined in Article 13 of the Fifa statutes have been reinstated with immediate effect. Consequently, Zifa’s representative and club teams are again entitled to take part in international competitions.

This also means that Zifa members and officials may benefit from development programmes, courses and training provided by Fifa and/or Caf. Moreover, Fifa member associations may again enter into sporting contact with Zifa and/or its teams.”

This much-anticipated announcement by Fifa, the world’s football governing body was met with euphoria across Zimbabwe and abroad. After 501 days of exclusion from international football due to alleged third-party interference, Zimbabwe rejoiced at its return to the global football community.

Immediately following the announcement, Fifa revealed the establishment of a normalisation committee to oversee Zifa’s affairs. The committee, now known to be led by Lincoln Mutasa as chairperson, with ex-players Sikhumbuzo Ndebele and Rosemary Mugadza as well as legal expert Nyasha

Sanyamandwe as members, will be responsible for several crucial tasks:

Running the daily affairs of Zifa. Restructuring the Zifa administration.

Establishing a collaboration agreement, with the assistance of Fifa, between the Ministry of Sport/the SRC and Zifa, to define their respective responsibilities and objectives, including addressing the issue of sexual harassment.

Reviewing the Zifa statutes and electoral code to ensure compliance with Fifa statutes and requirements, and facilitating their adoption by the Zifa congress.

Acting as an electoral committee to organise and conduct elections for a new Zifa board based on the aligned statutes and electoral code.

Ensuring a proper financial handover to the incoming Zifa board.

Undoubtedly, this calls for celebration as Zimbabweans embrace the return to international football. After all, who desires to live in isolation?

However, it is crucial to consider whether Zimbabwe is truly prepared to participate in all international football activities at this stage. My answer, unequivocally, is NO — it’s not yet Uhuru. We are not ready, particularly when it comes to competing at the national team level.

The challenges began with Fifa’s decision to grant the Mutasa-led committee just one year to navigate the unclear path towards electing a new Zifa board.

As Fifa stated, the normalisation committee’s responsibilities include reviewing the Zifa statutes and electoral code, ensuring compliance with Fifa statutes and requirements, and gaining endorsement or rejection from the old Zifa congress.

These are the very same individuals who were responsible for the deterioration of our football. According to Fifa, the old Zifa congress will be responsible for electing the new Zifa board, which may still include Felton Kamambo.

The eligibility of Kamambo remains unclear. Some individuals are already in an election mode, directing their energies towards that day instead of helping to improve our football.

In my opinion, Fifa should have followed the approach they took in appointing a normalisation committee for the Namibia Football Association (NFA) in 2019, with a tenure of just five months. Fifa explicitly stated that the NFA’s normalisation committee’s mandate was to organise and conduct relevant elections for members whose executive committees had exceeded their mandate.

Once elections were held at the member level, the committee proceeded to organise and conduct elections for a new NFA executive committee.
Fifa acknowledges in their statement that the Zifa board’s mandate ended in December 2022 as the last elections for the board took place in December 2018 for a four-year term. Consequently, the terms of Zifa’s affiliates also expired in December 2022.

Therefore, Fifa should have explicitly stated that Mutasa’s team should first conduct elections for all Zifa affiliates, and the newly elected representatives should deliberate on the reviewed statutes excluding the old guard.

The Zifa statutes and electoral code require a comprehensive overhaul. They are not only outdated but also ridicule modern football trends. Electing a Zifa board is a serious matter that should not be entrusted to just anyone, as has been the case in the past, with affiliates appearing solely during board elections. For instance, certain affiliates, like area zones, would cast four votes during the election process.

Their delegates voted for their own area zone leadership (first vote), participated in voting for provincial leadership (second vote), cast another vote for regional leadership (third vote), before the final vote. In contrast, regional delegates only voted twice or once, while the largest Zifa affiliate, PSL governors, voted once. This convoluted process defies logic.

There are also concerns regarding the Warriors’ readiness to compete in the upcoming Caf World Cup qualifiers.

The national team’s last competitive match took place on January 18, 2022, when they triumphed over Guinea with a 2-1 victory in an Afcon final group match. Since then, due to the suspension, the national team has had eight matches cancelled.

In contrast, other countries have played 20 competitive games during this period. Although the World Cup qualifiers are scheduled for November, only two slots are available for friendly matches, which will serve as an opportunity for the yet-to-be-appointed head coach to assess the players.

Instead of rushing into these matches, Zimbabwe should have set a bold target of qualifying for the 2030 World Cup finals. This may seem painful, unreasonable, or even foolish to some, but as the adage goes, “no pain, no gain.” We must endure the pain, frustration and make sacrifices along the way in order to celebrate tomorrow.

Between now and the 2030 qualifiers, Zifa should establish robust football structures from grassroots levels, ensuring a clear conveyor belt of national team players, rather than relying on a reckless ngenazonke (all in) strategy. The term “normalisation committee” implies the need to restore normalcy to our football, a goal we all desire.

However, we must acknowledge that this will not be an easy task. There will be disappointments, pain and frustration along the way, but these sacrifices are necessary for Zimbabweans to pay in order to celebrate genuine Uhuru (freedom). For now, it’s not yet Uhuru!