adminPetros Kausiyo Deputy Sports Editor
IN a rare move by the Lifelong Footballers Trust of Zimbabwe, the lobby group’s leader Francis Zimunya has endorsed the outcome of the ZIFA annual meeting and believes the resolutions should lay a platform for enhanced development of the game.
Zimunya has traditionally been a fierce critic of many a ZIFA leadership and has been headlining a “stakeholders group’’ that did not seem to see anything good to emerge from the Philip Chiyangwa-led executive in the last two years they have been in office.
But the veteran administrator yesterday said he had noted with enthusiasm and satisfaction the resolutions made by the ZIFA assembly which he reckoned were crucial to drive the association’s development programmes.
ZIFA councillors converged in Harare for their annual meeting where they discussed a variety of issues before coming up with some resolutions including the key moves to approve the 2018 budget, adoption of the 2016 audited accounts, and to ratify the appointment of an electoral committee that will oversee the elections roadmap.
Zimunya revealed that his Trust and a group of other stakeholders had convened their own indaba, a day after the ZIFA annual meeting, where they discussed at length the resolutions, which the councillors had made.
The former Northern Region chairman admitted they had taken a keen interest in the annual meeting at which the ZIFA Councillors turned up in droves despite a sustained social media campaign to try and persuade them not to attend the Congress with some arguing the indaba was null and void since the mandate of some of the Councillors had ended.
Zimunya was particularly charmed by the deal which Chiyangwa entered into with La Liga, where the Spanish top-flight will play a key role in the development of the game in the country.
“I did not attend the meeting as we were not invited, but we followed developments with keen interest and in fact, we met as stakeholders to discuss the resolutions, which were made at the meeting and which were posted on the ZIFA website,’’ Zimunya said.
“I must also clarify that as stakeholders we are not there to fight people, but to aid in the development of football and we are more concerned about the positives in football. We welcome and acknowledge the positive developments that came out of the ZIFA AGM notably:
- The appointment of an Electoral Committee
- The adoption of the 2018 budget
- The Sponsorship of Provincial and Regional leagues
- The ratification of a partnership deal
- The lifting of Peter Dube’s suspension
“These are vehicles and conduits that enhances football development at grassroots level and promotes good governance. I wish to congratulate you as our representatives for a job well done though belatedly. However, we wish to remind you that there are still hurdles that need to be cleared which lie ahead of us as a football family in order to take the game forward.
“Please bear in mind that ethics, honesty, transparency, accountability and tolerance of divergence views are a prerequisite for success and development of football at all levels. To all former footballers and other members of the football family, please take this opportunity and use this election season to transform the game in this country; by taking part in the ZIFA elections/plebiscite which are now upon us.”
Online Reporter