Ricky Zililo
THE date for the Zifa board elections is December 5, and jostling for votes from the 58 councillors has already started. Nominations close on Thursday and as of yesterday, only two people, business mogul Philip Chiyangwa and fire-brand Harare executive Leslie Gwindi, a former PSL secretary-general had publicly declared their interest in running for the Zifa presidency.
Chiyangwa seems to have made big strides in as far as covering the ground is concerned, strategically eliminating Caps United’s director Farai Jere whom many had thought would run for the Zifa presidency. Jere is now Chiyangwa’s campaign manager.
Gwindi, who lost the last two elections to Cuthbert Dube, believes there is time to canvas for votes and it remains to be seen whether the former PSL boss will this time be able to land the top post.
Rumours are awash that Trevor Carelse-Juul and Lincoln Mutasa will soon enter the race.
PSL chairman Twine Phiri who had been expected to announce his position during the week is said to be still consulting before taking a decision.
With his partner at Caps United Jere publicly declaring his backing of Chiyangwa, chances are high that Phiri could decide to watch the Zifa race from the sidelines, knowing well that he will make a return to the board on a PSL ticket.
The prospective Zifa candidates should be wary of bogus characters that will want to bleed them, promising to get them votes.
Many a time these people who claim to be popular in football circles are not voters. Candidates who will be gullible to part with substantial amounts should leave room for disappointment as some of the intended presents will not reach the final destination.
The runners are in cahoots with the Zifa councillors, and like to refer to themselves as kingmakers.
Election time is the best period for councillors to make a quick buck, so I hear.
Zifa councillors are drawn from the Premier Soccer League, the four Zifa regions (Northern, Southern, Eastern and Central), the 10 provinces, NASH, NAPH, Women’s Soccer, Futsal (five-a-side) and area zones.
At the beginning of the month these councillors gathered courage to chuck out Cuthbert Dube from office, accusing the Harare businessman of running down the association.
Now the nation will be hoping that in their wisdom, the same councillors who were sane enough to realise Dube’s shortcomings will get someone who will clean Zifa’s battered image, attract corporate support by sticking to corporate governance facets.
These same individuals who have in the past been accused of stooping low to the extent of auctioning their votes to the highest bidder have an opportunity of shaming their critics by doing the right thing on December 5.
Some of them are being accused of running down affiliates that they serve.
One is tempted to think that maybe revocations should have started from the grassroots where these councillors come from. Some of the affiliates don’t even have structures yet we expect the councillors to be objective in their practice.
Anyway, it’s just a thought that the Sport and Recreation Commission should in future look at these affiliates and check whether they are fully functional or they only pop up during election time, with their members who are councillors coming to receive tokens of appreciation.
As custodians of Zimbabwean football, the general belief is that the councillors cannot be easily swayed by flashy manifestos or brown envelopes during the buildup to the elections.
We trust that in their wisdom, they will vote for the best candidates who will selflessly serve football.
At the end of the day football must be the winner.