Midlands Correspondent
LONG-serving Zifa councillor and Midlands chairman Brian Chishanga has thrown his name into the hat to contest the association’s vacant Central Region presidency in elections slated for February 20.
The post fell vacant after the then incumbent Felton Kamambo was voted into the Zifa board during elections that ushered in the executive led by flamboyant businessman Phillip Chiyangwa on December 5 last year.
Chishanga, who hogged the limelight last year by publicly endorsing Chiyangwa’s candidature before the nomination court had sat to process papers of prospective candidates, believes he is the best man for the job.
“I’ve been through the mill and I understand the game. Actually I’m one of the people that advocated for the setting up of a fourth region in the country, which saw the Central Region being born in 2010,” said Chishanga.
“However, as one who was behind the creation of the Central Region, I’m pained by the fact that FC Platinum, the inaugural Central Region League champions, are the only side that managed to remain in the Premiership. All the other teams from Triple B, Hardbody and now Whawha have been relegated, which says a lot about the quality of our league.”
The Zifa Midlands chairman said he wanted a leaner league with few teams but a lot of quality, adding that only the quality and competitiveness of the league would ultimately attract sponsorship.
“There’s a need to sort out the quality of our league first if we want to be competitive. If I’m elected, I’ll copy the models of the Zifa Northern Region and Southern Region, so that we come up with a quality league that produces teams which remain in the Premiership when promoted.
“As a region, we’re well branded but the challenge we have is that we’re not competitive and the first port of call will be to have lesser teams than the current 16, which means we’ll remain with quality and therefore increase competitiveness. The moment we become competitive, sponsors will come knocking on our door,” he said.
Chishanga was the Zifa Mashonaland West chairman from 1994 to 1998 before he was ousted by former Zimpapers chief executive officer Justin Mutasa. He bounced back into mainstream football in 2002 when he won the Zifa Midlands chairmanship where he has held the fort to date.
He is likely to face stiff competition from the region’s board member Stanley Chapeta, who is also said to be interested in the post.
Other names that have been thrown around include former PSL secretary-general Mwandibuya Mutepfa and former Zifa Central Region chairman Patrick Hokonya.