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Bongani Mafu Special Correspondent
The advent of Dr PC (Philip Chiyangwa) took most of us in football circles by surprise.

When ZIFA councillors, led by Omega Sibanda, Ben Gwarada and Miriam Sibanda made a move to oust Cuthbert Dube, we thought that was an uncalculated move because, at that time, we knew Dube was personally sponsoring our national teams. But it seems these guys knew what they were doing. For me the question was “Where to for Zimbabwe football?”

When Philip Chiyangwa threw in his name, most of us doubted him. That left Omega exposed as he was PC’s running mate.

But Chiyangwa went on to win the elections, won the COSAFA presidency and led the campaign for the eventual winner of the CAF presidential elections.

Surely, what can stop him from getting to FIFA? I believe it is good for former footballers to be involved in the running of football, but I fully appreciate that there are offices and duties that will be beyond most mainly because, for ages, football players were proud to proclaim: “inini zvangu chikoro handidi . . . makumbo angu ndo anotaura!’’

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Well, Chiyangwa has shown he has the guile and push to move our football to the next level. Playing a big role in bringing change to CAF should be seen by all Zimbabweans as an opportunity to take our football to the next level.

A level where the administrator in an obscure office out in Inyathi is a CAF/FIFA trained person. A level where a coach coaching youngsters deep down in Mwenezi is a CAF A licence holder. A level where a player in the final years of career holds his CAF A Licence and is just waiting to do his Pro Licence. I am a trained teacher of French, I lived in France and I saw how the French world works as far as football is concerned. Systems are put up in the French language. The best instructors speak French or Arabic. Courses are easily accessible in their region and France sometimes helps bring hordes of coaches for training in France under CAF/FIFA co-ordination. Chiyangwa’s victory should be embraced and used to develop and improve our football standards in Zimbabwe. The balance of power and opportunities in African football has, over the years, favoured the North, West and East African countries.

The Issa Hayatou-led institution at CAF, naturally, favoured French-speaking Africa. Thanks to Chiyangwa, all that is now history.

It is then important that we, as coaches, take strides in getting involved in CAF corridors to benefit from the liberation effort produced by one of our own.

How can it be possible that we have less than five CAF instructors, less than 200 A licensed coaches? No viable Centres of Excellence managed by qualified managers? We need to stand up and demand that all FIFA programmes on technical, tactical, psychological, physical, social and medical development are followed through. If the FIFA president can come to Zimbabwe why can’t CAF and FIFA instructors also come? I challenge people to look at the number of CAF A licence holders in countries like Egypt, Cameroon and Tunisia?

Why should they have so much and we have very little?

I am a Zimbabwean football coach who was trained in Zimbabwe to attain My French and Physical Education teacher qualification, to attain a Diploma in the teaching of the French language and be a qualified football coaching instructor trained in Germany.

I am a holder of the UEFA B coaching badge attained over 8 months in the UK and a holder of the advanced football coaching certificate from Zimbabwe. I have coached in Zimbabwe at such teams like Zimbabwe Saints, Highlanders and Tsholotsho and in Botswana at Gaborone United and I am currently head coach at Mochudi Centre Chiefs.

It is because of lack of instructors that someone like myself should be in the trenches rather than imparting knowledge to our people so they can go out and improve the standards in our country.

My appeal to Chiyangwa is for him to take this fight, to change our game, to the end.

Zimbabwe will one day open its eyes and appreciate his efforts in aligning Southern African football with that of other corners of Africa and the world at large.