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Ellina Mhlanga, Harare Bureau
SPORTS Commission acting director-general, Joseph Muchechetere is optimistic that their joint meeting with Zifa and Women Football stakeholders will yield an end to the problems hounding the female game.

The indaba, which takes place at the Commission’s offices at the National Sports Stadium, is meant to address several issues affecting women football in the country including divisions that have seen some clubs running their own league.

There have also been calls for Zifa to set up a proper league structure for women football. It is the second attempt that the Commission and Zifa are trying to hold the meeting after the initial indaba scheduled for last week at the same venue was moved ostensibly to allow more stakeholders.

The meeting had been pencilled for last Thursday before it was moved to today to allow other stakeholders from outside Harare to attend.

Muchechetere said all interested stakeholders are welcome at the meeting to map the way forward for the benefit of women football.

“Zifa has already invited stakeholders from women football and that means the national stakeholders, provincials and district members of Zifa have been invited.

“Those interested but are not part of Zifa members are invited. We have invited direct stakeholders ZTISU, NAPH and NASH and other stakeholders who have got interest in women football.

“We are determined that the meeting will identify all the issues and the suggestions or recommendations on how women football should be organised in the country. So the purpose of the meeting is to flag out the issues and come up with recommendations,” said Muchechetere.

Muchechetere said the resolutions would then be presented to Zifa with an expectation that the football mother body will deal with the issues that would have been raised today.

“The resolutions are going to be given to Zifa to sit through its system and deal with the issues. The SRC and Ministry of Sport and Recreation are only coming in as an intervention, to bring all stakeholders together.

“We feel there are more individual stakeholders who have got interest in the development of women football hence the interventions of SRC and Ministry of Sport and Recreation. Zifa itself, in particular in women football structures, there are already some camps.

“So it’s like coming in to assist Zifa to deal with these issues so that we have one strategy of implementing women football.

“We are coming in to support Zifa, the country should be able to support Zifa to develop women football and that is our job as the big stakeholders.

Us as SRC and the Ministry of Sport and Recreation we thought this is the right time to intervene. At the same time Zifa approached us, they needed our support,” said Muchechetere.

Interim women football committee chairperson, Elizabeth Langa said they are hoping for sanity to prevail in women football for the benefit of the players.

“We want sanity, we want to be united and let the game be played. This is affecting the players. If only people could unite for the sake of the girl child, the players.

“The players are committed to the sport but we need to be organised as the administrators. So my wish is to bring to sanity to football. We have to agree one way or the other for the benefit of the players,” said Langa.

The meeting comes at a time when Zifa have just suspended women football board member Cecilia Gambe for bringing the game of football into disrepute following her pitch invasion during a Castle Lager Premiership tie at Sakubva.

Gambe invaded the pitch in protest of what she considered unfair officiating by referee Brighton Chimene, who was handling a game involving Mutare City. She is expected to face the disciplinary committee on a date to be announced.

Zifa last week also announced plans to drop criminal charges against former women football boss Miriam Sibanda and her two executive committee members – Benny Mamoche and Edwin Magosvongwe.

The move has however, since been put on hold by the magistrates court which directed that Zifa president, Philip Chiyangwa who is away in Egypt on CAF business, would have to come in person to court if he wishes to withdraw charges against the trio.