The general consensus among Zimbabweans is that football —which is by an enormous distance the most loved sport in the country, is in an emergency unit.
The common consent that football offers a universal language of joy, peace, love, hope and passion is not applicable in the Zimbabwean context, as the local game, apart from deteriorating to unimaginable levels, is now breeding war instead of the peace it should naturally foster.
A national team captured by cartels and used as a platform to market undeserving players by their respective agents, a Premier Soccer League blighted by a leadership crisis, a Referees Committee struggling to contain corrupt match officials and lack of a CAF approved stadium to host international matches are just but a drop in the ocean as far as problems crippling Zimbabwean football are concerned.
The country’s flagship football team —the Warriors, last played an AFCON qualifier at home, in front of fans, on November 15, 2019 when they played out a goalless draw with Botswana at the National Sports Stadium.
Footballs fans braved the rains in Harare that evening to watch the Warriors against the Zebras, little did they know that they would endure five years of not watching their favorite team at home.
A suspension imposed on Zimbabwe by FIFA, for what the world governing body termed ‘third party interference’, lasted 18 months and further crippled the game.
When the suspension was finally lifted in July last year resulting in the appointment of a Normalisation Committee, it was as if FIFA was saying to Zimbabweans: “You are not organized enough to run the game on your own, we will do it for you.”
What was perceived as a new era when the Lincoln Mutasa-led Normalisation Committee stepped in, turned out to be yet another period of disorder, as chaotic football administration reached unprecedented levels, to the ire of football-loving Zimbabweans.
Against this background, Zimbabweans are counting down with keen interest, to the upcoming ZIFA election.
The poll to elect a new ZIFA executive committee will be held in January next year, under a new constitution.
According to the proposed new ZIFA constitution, presidential aspirants must be at least 40 years of age, be citizens and residents of Zimbabwe, having been continuously resident in Zimbabwe for a period of two years presiding the date of election.
All aspirants must have been active in football for at least five years within the last ten years and never been previously convicted or sentenced for any offense.
Last but not least, anyone intending to lead Zimbabwean football by assuming the ZIFA presidency must have passed a minimum sentence of five Ordinary Level subjects —a clause which has generated a lot of debate among football stakeholders.
Given all the problems which have crippled football in Zimbabwe, what kind of a leader is the local game in need of?