EDITORIAL COMMENT: New blood urgently needed at Zifa Cuthbert Dube
Cuthbert Dube

Cuthbert Dube

The Zimbabwe Football Association board president Cuthbert Dube is under intense pressure to quit for failures during his term. The government has joined in the fray with Deputy Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture Thabeth Kanengoni-Malinga saying her ministry was prepared to face the wrath of world soccer body Fifa and kick the Dube-led executive out of office.

Her boss, Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture, Andrew Langa, however appears to favour moderation, saying no rash decision would be made to dissolve the Zifa board.

Fifa is known to be ruthless when governments interfere in the running of football matters. Fifa jealously guards the autonomy of its affiliates and a number have been suspended from international activities after their governments removed executives from office.

Soccer has mass support in most African countries and governments believe they have a legitimate right to intervene if the sport is not being run properly or the association is failing to deliver by qualifying for major tournaments.

Concern over the state of football in the country has reached a stage where almost everyone, from the ordinary person in the street to lawmakers, is blaming Dube and his executive.

That Dube and his executive have failed, both on and off the field, is not in dispute. The country has failed to qualify for major continental tournaments during the time which Dube has been at the helm of the association.

Zimbabweans are rooting for other teams participating at the on-going Africa Cup of Nations finals in Equatorial Guinea after the Warriors fell at the first hurdle.

Zimbabwe boasts of enough football talent such that with good leadership at Zifa, it should be a regular participant at this tournament.

Off the field of play, debts are soaring at Zifa House as the association fails to meet its financial obligations.

It is apparent that Dube cannot take the country’s football forward anymore. He has run out of ideas. New blood is urgently needed to inject fresh ideas in the running of football in the country.

By new blood we don’t mean the recycling of the same people as has become the norm in soccer administration, where failures from the past are laundered as possible Messiahs.

Soccer needs someone who will bring confidence to the game and be able to attract partners from the private sector to take the sport to the next level.

We have no doubt that one of the reasons Zifa is in the doldrums is because of financial problems brought about by the state of the economy.

With the right person in charge, the feel good factor will attract sponsors who are being put off by the present executive.

Zifa has in the past advanced its begging bowl to the government. We find it ironic that the soccer mother body wants government assistance but at the same time warns of the consequences of government interference in soccer matters.

We would like to believe that by providing funds to Zifa, the Government is interfering in the running of the sport.

Cuthbert Dube and company ought to do the honourable thing and resign before forcing the government’s hand and risk having the country suspended by Fifa.

However, if the truth be told, Zimbabwe won’t lose anything by being suspended by Fifa because the country is unlikely to qualify for any major tournament as long as the current executive is in place. It will actually present an opportunity to save money by not taking part in expensive competitions where we go to make up numbers and enrich a few people through travel and subsistence allowances.

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