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Lovemore Dube Senior Sports Editor
THE president of the Zimbabwe National Football Teams Supporters Association Eddie Chivero has called on the Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture Andrew Langa to step down. This comes after Minister Langa at the weekend appeared to take a soft stance on Zifa problems.

On Wednesday last week his deputy, Thabeth Kanengoni-Malinga told Parliament that Zimbabwe was ready to bear the cost of a possible suspension from Fifa to clean up the mess at 53 Livingstone Avenue. Her position received a ‘yes’ nod from across the country as many people believe cleaning the mess at Zifa is the solution to challenges facing Zimbabwean football.

In an interview yesterday Chivero who leads the bigger of the two supporters’ bodies, said Langa should be the first one to quit.

The other supporters’ association, the Friends of the Warriors led by Lynne Green, is accused of being sympathetic to Dube and the chief executive officer, Jonathan Mashingaidze.

“He has let us down. He seems not to care about what is happening to the game and the concerns of the nation. It is evidently clear that Zifa president Cuthbert Dube is no longer wanted.

“Football has remained stagnant and needs a new broom. His tenure has been a failure and as a representative of the fans we say Minister Langa should go first and then Dube should follow him. Both are failures and as such we have lost confidence in them so they are no longer needed in sport,” said Chivero.

He said they had noted as supporters that the Minister’s behaviour was as if he is compromised.

“The Minister seems to be compromised when it gets to Zifa issues. Why is he taking such a soft stance that is against the nation. Zimbabweans are unanimous that Dube and Mashingaidze are no longer wanted in Zimbabwean football, they have stayed for far too long yet they have not achieved anything,” he said.

Chivero described as hogwash claims by Mashingaidze that some board members were mobilising Zanu-PF youths to go and demonstrate at Dube’s house. It is alleged that Mashingaidze told the Sport and Recreation Commission on Saturday that there was such a grand plan in place.

He is said to have alleged that 5,000 youths from Harare and 1,500 from Bulawayo were being mobilised for the grand march.

“Zimbabwe football does not need that at all. Already the message is clear so why should we have marches. Instead of spending resources mobilising such a number of people, the money could be better spent on football development. We never subscribe to a culture of enticing people by money to do anything because all we do as supporters is voluntary,” said Chivero.

Former Zifa councillor Faroah Jele yesterday described Zimbabwe football as being in a sorry state. He however said the challenges at Zifa did not mean that Zimbabwe had no capable people to run Zifa affairs.

Jele said Zimbabweans should ask themselves why countries whose football associations are doing better than Zifa would poach someone like the late Rita Musekiwa.

She was an administrative officer at Zifa House before South Africa enticed her to Johannesburg in the early 1990s.

“Honestly if the South African Football Association had to get a Zimbabwean from Zifa to help set up their structures, it means we are good.

Only a few councillors from Jele’s time are still active in the game as most of them were frustrated by vote-buying which is mainly to blame for the decay in football.

The calls for Dube to step down to avoid risking a Fifa ban in the event government intervenes, has now divided the Zifa board.

Some board members are said to be now labelled renegades and there are moves to have them kicked out at the February 14 Zifa meeting.

A meeting was allegedly held ahead of last Saturday’s meeting with the Sport and Recreation Commission and it was agreed that the renegades should be isolated.

Those said to be now under siege are believed to be vice president Omega Sibanda, women’s football boss Miriam Sibanda and board member responsible for finance Ben Gwarada.

The other board member Tawengwa Hara distanced himself from last Saturday’s meeting as he flew into the capital the previous night.

Councillors have been promised Zifa jackets ahead of the February 14 meeting at a time the development of the game needs more money at grassroot level.

Meanwhile, the Zifa debt could be more than $8 million following revelations that some coaches and employees owed money were left out in the $6.4 million debt reported at last year’s annual general meeting.