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Elizabeth Rosen

Sikhumbuzo Moyo, Senior Sports Reporter
Women football clubs want Elizabeth Rosen and Primrose Dube to contest the posts of Zimbabwe Women Football chairperson and deputy chairperson respectively.

Rosen is the widow of Motor Action founder and president Erick Rosen, who died in January while Dube is the wife of veteran Bulawayo City striker Mkhokheli Dube.

“There is a general feeling that women’s football in Zimbabwe needs to start on a new slate and the November 19 elections presents us with that opportunity where we need to put in new brooms. We want leaders with business acumen and international contacts,” said a source.

Elizabeth and her late husband Erick formed Motor Action in 2000 out of the ashes of Blackpool and transformed it into one of the most feared teams in Zimbabwe and their patience finally paid off in 2010 when they lifted the unbranded Premier Soccer League that saw them winning the right to represent the country in the Caf Champions League.

Despite getting no dime from the domestic sweat, Elizabeth and Erick toiled with the team in the African safari, although they were knocked out in the first round.

Primrose is an operations manager at Grassroots Zimbabwe, a very successful football for hope programme run by Bantu Rovers president Methembe Ndlovu. She has connections with world renowned clubs, such as Arsenal and Barcelona, through her association with Grassroots Zimbabwe. Her husband Mkhokheli is well networked in football circles having played in the United States.

“It becomes easy for someone like Primrose to use her influence to get sponsorship for the girl child, even attachments for our players and club administrators. This is an election and people have a right to choose those they want,” said the source.

Efforts to reach Elizabeth were fruitless as her mobile number was unreachable. Her late husband’s close confidante and business partner Simeon Jamanda said if clubs feel she was the right person to lead them, so be it.

“If people want her then I see nothing wrong with that,” said Jamanda.

Primrose said she needed to consult first before commenting.

@skhumoyo2000