The Herald
19th June 2014
By Petros Kausiyo Deputy Sports Editor
TWO years after they convened a similar meeting government, the Sport and Recreation Commission and Zifa will come together for another indaba aimed at finding solutions to the problems haunting football today.The meeting being facilitated by the Sports Commission is scheduled for the Zifa Village and comes two years after former Education, Sport, Arts and Culture Minister David Coltart arranged a similar initiative at Pandhari Lodge whose resolutions never really bore any fruit.
Sports Commission corporate communications officer Tirivashe Nheweyembwa said they were expecting Zifa to present a report on the state of football in the country with stakeholders then expected to offer possible solutions that could help drive the country’s biggest sport from its problems.
“The Sports and Recreation Commission in conjunction with ZIFA and the Ministry of Sport, Arts and Culture will be hosting a football indaba on 19 June 2014 at the ZIFA Village from 0830 – 1300 Hrs. The purpose of the Indaba will be to receive and consider a report on the state of football in the country, appreciate the challenges that our football is facing and to proffer solutions as stakeholders,’’ wrote Nheweyembwa in his notice.
Nheweyembwa said they had lined up Sport, Arts and Culture Minister Andrew Langa, his Primary and Secondary Education counterpart Lazarus Dokora, Zifa president Cuthbert Dube and the chairman of the parliamentary portfolio committee on Education, Sport, Arts and Culture Temba Mliswa among the key speakers.
There are however genuine concerns that the indaba may have been hastily convened and might not cater for a wider spectrum of stakeholders.
The indaba also comes just weeks after the country’s flagship soccer team, the Warriors sunk to new depths when Ian Gorowa’s men were bundled out of the 2015 African Cup of Nations qualifiers at the preliminary round stage following a 3-2 aggregate defeat by Tanzania.
There was no immediate respite for the local game as a week later the Mighty Warriors were also knocked out of the 2014 African Women’s Championships following back to back 1-0 defeats by Zambia in the final qualifier.
Those results sparked a public outcry as they put into perspective the problems haunting the national game and prompted Langa to convene a stakeholders indaba to try and thrash out those challenges.
But as some of the game’s stakeholders converge at the Zifa Village in Mt Hampden this morning, there is need for the participants to ensure the meeting does not fizzle into a mere talk shop as was the case when Coltart presided over the Pandhari indaba.
It is also clear that as parliamentarians, government officials, the Sports Commission, representatives of the corporate world and Zifa troop for the indaba, the biggest problem haunting the national game is that of funding.
That Zifa have had to rely on their president Cuthbert Due to fund the association’s activities is a serious indictment on a country that is eager to stake a claim among the giants of the continental game and become a regular feature at such competitions like the African Cup of Nations.
Dube who has over the years funded the Warriors campaigns and paid the salaries of Zifa staff including successive national coaches, has often argued that it is not sustainable for one man to continue bailing out the national game.
Thus the issue of funding is set to be topical in the discussions and government is expected to lead the way in coming up with workable solutions that would also ensure Zifa do not sink further into a debt trap that has already stalled development of the game.
Nheweyembwa last month also spoke of the need for a major funding policy for sport in the country to be put into place with the Sports Commission spokesman revealing that they had detected a number of similarities on the problems being faced by national associations including Zifa, Zimbabwe Cricket, Zimbabwe Rugby Union and the National Athletics Association of Zimbabwe.
While the boarder picture would be to establish a national policy for the funding of sport, today’s indaba is about football and Langa and the rest of the participants will get to know the state of the game from a Zifa perspective when Dube presents his report.
Mliswa’s committee has since its inception also taken a keen interest in the goings-on at the sporting associations but the firebrand former Warriors fitness trainer has acknowledged that football has also been pegged back by inadequate resources.
Fifa with whom Zifa have been enjoying goodwill in the last four years, have also hinted that they could partly assist Zifa to wipe off their $4 million debt but only if government or the association start the ball rolling and show greater commitment towards that cause.
The indaba would also have to avoid focusing only on the Warriors and their failed Nations Cup campaign without addressing some of the major factors that have contributed to the decline of the senior national team which include lack of a vibrant junior policy on the part of Zifa who have not assembled an Under-23 team for four years.
Zifa communications manager Xolisani Gwesela, however said they were looking forward to the indaba with optimism.
“Basically it if for stakeholders to appreciate the challenges in our football but I think this meeting has come at the right time and in the right direction because as it stands football needs the input of everyone ,’’ Gwesela said.
Apart from seeking the sympathy of stakeholders, Zifa would have to acknowledge their administrative shortcomings some of them so glaring that they do not inspire investor confidence in the game.
It is no secret that any corporate entity would want transparency and proper corporate governance f they are to inject financial and material resources into the game and Zifa would have to prove they can measure up to that task if provided with the resources.