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Jonathan Mshingaidze

Senior Sports Reporter
CANDIDATES vying for the Zifa Southern Region board positions have 24 hours to conclude their campaigns before elections are held at YWCA in Bulawayo tomorrow.
Officials from the 16 Zifa Southern Region Division One Soccer League clubs and three representatives from each of the provinces, Bulawayo Metropolitan and Matabeleland North will cast their votes tomorrow.

According to sources Zifa Southern Region on Thursday demanded that clubs submit names and contact details of people who will vote on their behalf. This has raised suspicions as accreditation has always been done just before elections.

Some of the candidates spoken to yesterday who did not want to be mentioned said some privileged members could corruptly gain the list and phone voters. They said every candidate should have the list as canvassing should be an open game.

There is talk of a faction enjoying good sponsorship for the campaign and they are believed to be aligned to some candidates for the national board elections. Sadly though some say some have had the carrot dangled before them for a wider constituency with unscrupulous group leaders turning the campaign money to their own use.

The list has been a guarded secret with officials declining to make it public while Zifa communications officer Xolisani Gwesela said he is in the dark about the development.

“I am not privy to the list but what I can confirm to you is that each club in the First Division has one vote with three reserved for each province and in the case of Southern Region there are two provinces. Maybe you can speak to the electoral committee because I know nothing,” said Gwesela.

The Zifa Southern Region administrator Augustine Ndlovu confirmed compiling the list but referred questions to the region’s outgoing secretary Sydney Madzvimbo who declined to comment.

Zifa legal advisor Ralph Maganga a member of the electoral committee was unavailable for comment while vice-chairman for the Zifa Electoral Committee Tendai Madzorera kept on saying he was driving before referring this reporter to the association’s chief executive officer Jonathan Mashingaidze.

Likewise, Mashingaidze’s mobile phone went unanswered and subsequently was not reachable. Besides the mystery shrouding the voters roll, the two candidates vying for the chairmanship Musa Mandaza and Mandla Moyo are ready for the elections.

“I am coming in as a new person and what I want to do with the help of all stakeholders in the Zifa Southern Region is to enforce Fair Play and try to harness sponsorship for our Division One teams cascading to lower leagues. Development of soccer in the region should be seen starting from the grassroots so that even when teams are promoted into the PSL, they go there to stay.

“What is important is for the electorate to make a wise decision when casting their votes. I will not promise Tsholotsho or any other team that they will be promoted but I want a management that will level the ground to make sure the best team in the race wins,” Moyo said.

Mandaza summed up his campaign by calling for unity among stakeholders.
“What is important is for football to be the winner at the end of it all. My promise is to continue with the vision I had for this region when I was chairman, fighting for the establishment of a Central Region which we managed to get.

“During my tenure we invested money paid by affiliates back to the clubs by having tournaments. If voted in I will knock at every door looking for sponsorship. I also want  to help this region nurture and produce football stars who will go on to represent the country.

“Lastly, I believe there is no bad blood within people in football and may the best candidate win,” said Mandaza.
The vice-chairman’s post will be a contest between Tawanda Ruzive and Gaylord Madhunguza.

Ruzive needs no introduction as he was treasurer in the last executive while Madhunguza has been with ZPC Hwange.
Jabulani Chinyangarara (Zimbabwe Saints), Tumediso Ndlovu (New West City), Sydney Madzvimbo (Blackboots), Khumbulani Mbano (Hwange Juniors), Bryton Malandule and Patrick Malunga (no clubs) are in the race for the board member positions.

Malandule, a former Zifa panel referee, was involved in the administration of partiality on the field as a match official.  He brings financial management into the region and that could be his trump card as other candidates have no experience at all in accounting.

Malunga is the fixtures’ secretary of the outgoing executive. He is a former Gwanda Ramblers defender and would bring football experience into the executive.
Mbano is relatively unknown and comes from a team whose administration is basically done by the parent sponsor — Hwange Colliery. Madzvimbo was secretary-general of the Dube executive having been voted last year to replace Brian Moyo who joined Zifa as education officer on a fulltime basis.

Ndlovu has been the brains behind New West City, a team founded in New Lobengula. It has produced a number of outstanding players. His appreciation of the region’s landscape and interest of the clubs as a club owner could add a different dimension to how the league is run.