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Ricky Zililo Sports Reporter
THE Zifa board will meet in Harare on Saturday to ratify the names of proposed sub committee members.
All sub committee members are subject to scrutiny as the national association, eager to protect its image and ensure the right calibre of officials are involved in the game, screens candidates.
Changes are imminent in the Zimbabwe Soccer Referees Committee following revelations that leaders of the group should not be compromised in any way.

Zifa vice-president Omega Sibanda is the chairman of the referees committee with former match official Bryton Malandule, who also is the Zifa Southern Region board member, deputising him.

The national co-ordinator of the organisation is Dennis Tshuma who was voted in by clubs in Matabeleland North where he is the Zifa chairman.

According to sources, the Zifa board agreed at a meeting last weekend that those who are running leagues cannot be part of the referees’ committee and have to choose either to serve on the match officials’ board or remain in the Zifa Assembly.

Concerns have been raised about the pedigree of some of the people that have been chosen for the ZSRC, with allegations that some are not even affiliated to the organisation.

“Surely how can someone running a league be given a responsibility of managing referees? Some do not even have any knowledge of the laws of the game. Rules are changing every year.

“They have not written commissioning examinations yet they have been appointed as match commissioners? How are they assessing referees when they are not qualified to do so?

“We get confused now that we hear that some are willing to leave their positions that they were voted for so that they take the posts at ZSRC,” said a source.

The argument of the source is documented in Article Four of the regulations on organisation of refereeing in Fifa member associations which reads: “Composition of referees committee shall be composed of (section 1) a chairman, deputy chairman and members deemed necessary to discharge its duties. Members shall not be affiliated to any clubs, leagues or any other football organisation.

“(Section 2) the executive committee shall appoint one of its members as chairman of the referees committee.”
In this case, the executive committee tasked with the responsibility of appointing one of its members to head the referees committee is the board.

Chronicle Sport has it on good authority that after meeting Fifa Development Officer for Eastern and Southern Africa Ashford Mamelodi, it was agreed that the Zifa secretariat assumes responsibilities of the referees’ committee until such a time that the committee is ratified and a functional desk put in place.

Contacted for comment, the ZSRC chairman Sibanda referred all questions to the Zifa communications manager Xolisani Gwesela.
“Speak to our communications manager, he will furnish you with all the details that you need,” he said.

Gwesela could neither confirm nor deny that changes were imminent in the referees committee.
He said, “All standing committees will be ratified on May 31.”

The Zifa standing committees are the ZSRC, Football Medicine, Internal Audit, Futsal and Beach Soccer headed by Twine Phiri, Finance Committee led by Bernard Gwarada and Women’s Football guided by Miriam Sibanda.