Will Zifa Trust bring lost glory to Zim?

The Sunday News

By Bruce Itai Chimani

6 October 2012

FOOTBALL undoubtedly the most popular sport in Zimbabwe has been haunted by many negatives, the greatest of late being the  Asiagate scandal, a report of which was released this past week that saw some players being exonerated.

On the other end the state of Zimbabwe football, especially on the financial end, has not been as first-rate as is expected of it.

The Warriors have struggled time and again during preparations for crucial games and this has invariably contributed to their poor performance during some of their matches.

The Warriors have eased back into the top 100 on the latest Fifa/Coca-Cola football rankings and have given a good account of themselves in the final qualifier for Afcon 2013 first leg tie against Angola. Boasting a healthy 3-1 lead, the senior national team may still have to contend with the lax attitude demonstrated by relevant stakeholders who preside over the  sport. A case in point being the manner in which preparations and logistics for the   Angola match were conducted, whereby players trickled into camp in a somewhat haphazard way.

A recent football indaba held in Harare arrived at the conclusion that the establishment of sustainable developmental resolutions to curb the perennial problems dogging the country’s biggest sport is crucial.

Among the resolutions and recommendations made at the Football indaba, which was held in Harare and was initiated by the Sport and Recreation Commission,  were issues of football development, investment and infrastructure, gate takings and levies, the new Zifa constitution, the revival of the Warriors Trust and the conclusion of the investigation into the Asiagate match-fixing scandal.

However, of interest was the revival of the Warriors Trust, which will be rechristened Zifa Trust because of its broad focus on national football as a whole not just the senior national team.

minister of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture David Coltart said the new Zifa Trust would have checks and balances, which would ensure football in Zimbabwe develops and regains its lost glory.

The indaba saw various stakeholders including representatives from the Ministry of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture led by Coltart, the Sports and Recreation Commission, Zifa and the corporate world come together to deliberate on various matters haunting the country’s most popular sport.

“I should say that the meeting was a very productive one. We all agreed on some of the most important things that will take Zimbabwean football to a better place,” said Coltart.

“The re-establishment of the Zifa trust is one such resolution that I am going to present to cabinet and we will produce a document that will contain all the deliberations that will be guidelines to it,” he added.

“This time we want to make sure that we make the trust as professional as is possible. We need to get professionals like lawyers, accountants and so on and let them run the trust with their various expertise.

“However the system will be run after consultation with cabinet. we want to make sure also that the trust will not be linked to any politics so that it is in no way affected whenever elections take place,” added Coltart.

Coltart noted that there was need for the board of trustees to constitute men and women of integrity who have a mind to take the game of football to higher levels.

The Zifa Trust will be a way of ensuring Zifa solely depends on itself and not on the government according to Zifa president Cuthbert Dube, in recent press reports.

Zifa chief executive officer Jonathan Mashingaidze hailed the development as a step forward for Zimbabwean football.

“Although it is not directly in our hands now and being handled by the government, the Zifa Trust will definitely go a long way for not only the Warriors, but Zimbabwean football as a whole,” he said.

Mashingaidze pointed out the need for the trust to be re-established in a way that will make it sustainable as it were.

“The trust should not be just something we have before a major tournament or anything like that. We are supposed to make sure it runs outside those special events so that we are also able to take care of business on a day-to-day basis.

The other issues that were deliberated on during the indaba were the need for the refurbishment of the stadia in the country, the need to establish a league for secondary schools and how clubs in the Premier Soccer League could be strengthened,” Coltart revealed.

Coltart will soon present a document with all the deliberations made at that indaba to the Cabinet for endorsement.

If all is handled well and the trust is better regulated as the minister implies it will be, Zimbabwe football will regain its lost glory.

With the support of the corporate sector as has already been started by the establishment of the Mzansi90 fundraising committee — which is a group of businesspeople who have             set themselves out to support the  Warriors in preparation for their game against Angola and beyond — Afcon 2013 in particular.

The money will finance the Warriors’ winning and qualification bonuses, which have been pegged at $10 000 per player, appearance fees, camping allowances, accommodation, food and air travel for the players from European and South African

 

%d bloggers like this: