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Sikhumbuzo Moyo Senior Sports Reporter 
WHILE focus is on the upcoming Zifa executive committee elections set for early next month, former players will tomorrow begin preparations for the 2018 elections. A meeting of all former players from the Southern Region has been set for Queens Sports Club tomorrow. “We’re beginning our journey to occupy football offices in 2018. We’re aware that at the moment odds are against former players getting into office.

“We’re therefore calling upon all former players to come to Queens Sports Club on Tuesday where we will come up with our strategic plan. For us as former players to claim a stake in football administration we need to start from grassroots level not to just rush for the highest office,” said former Highlanders player, manager and chairman Ernest Maphepha Sibanda who is spearheading the campaign.

Maphepha said he was fully behind calls for former players to venture into football administration but that needed a well laid out plan.

“In all honesty, we can’t rush into the top football office post now, we need to plan carefully and I believe that 2018 should and must see us assuming office from even area zones right up to provincial and regional positions. Our target is to have at least 30 former players as councillors. After our Tuesday meeting I will then go to the Northern region where we’ll have a similar meeting and then after that go to the Midlands,” said Maphepha.

Chronicle Sport is reliably informed that Premier Soccer League chief executive officer Kennedy Ndebele will be the former players’ candidate for the Zifa presidential post but Maphepha was evasive on who they want to usher into office in 2018.

“All we want is to have someone who understands football and I believe that someone has already been identified but for now we’ll keep it our secret,” said Maphepha.