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JAMES-TAKAVADA

Eddie Chikamhi and Paul Mundandi
FORMER Soccer Star James Takavada says it’s time to give former footballers a chance to take charge of the game. He has challenged the councillors to vote for him at this Saturday’s elections to choose a new ZIFA president. Takavada, who is competing for the top ZIFA job with businessman Philip Chiyangwa, long-serving football administrator Leslie Gwindi and ex-ZIFA chairman Trevor Carelse-Juul, yesterday said former footballers have been sidelined from the game for too long.

He said Zimbabwean football standards had fallen over the years because of poor leadership which had gradually been deviating from focusing on football matters. According to him, Zimbabwe’s current football mess does not need money alone, but people who are grounded in football.

“I don’t know why people have this way of thinking that football is about anybody who can come in and go, but when it comes to other professions like engineering, accounting, law, journalism, we really need the guy who has seen it in the trenches. “It’s very unfortunate that in football we are not doing that.

“If I may go back to history, before 1980 the people who have been running football are the ones who had played football, coached football and had administered football and we never had such problems as we are having now.

“After (former ZIFA boss) Nelson Chirwa’s time that’s when we had people coming from outside. Get me clearly here, I am not saying business people should not be involved in running football. “But we are saying non-football people were coming from outside basically with the notion that they had business acumen that they wanted to bring into football.

“I’m sure a lot of people embraced this as a good thing to do, but one thing that we forgot was that the professional experience as a footballer is also needed. You employ an engineer to manage an engineer. Football is the core business of ZIFA. Businesspeople must only come as partners and not as leaders,” said Takavada.

The 1984 Soccer Star of the Year launched his manifesto yesterday and revealed plans to restore ZIFA’s credibility, increase transparency, accountability, improve the governance and protect the integrity of the game.

Former players Ernest Kamba, Stanford “Stix” Mtizwa, Eric Aisam and Misheck Chidzambwa were some of the notable faces who attended the launch. Takavada said Zimbabwe does not deserve to be sitting outside the top 100 on the FIFA rankings. “We need someone who has been in the trenches. In some countries like Zambia they voted for football people and look what they have achieved.

“I am one lucky guy in Zimbabwe who has gone to school, who played football, who has management skills. I have what Zimbabwe needs. “I work hard and I don’t just talk. I believe our football needs a person who has been in football, who can administer football not chancers. We need people with passion.

“Do these people we trust with our football know exactly where a player comes from? If you look at the time I was talking about, since Chirwa left, our football went down drastically simply because the know-how of bringing a youngster was missing.

“Today, we have no stars to talk about. Imagine we are still talking about Stix and about Moses Chunga. So I am asking the councillors that it’s only two years for the new board and why don’t you give us that chance and see what we can do as ex-footballer?

“If we fail we are ready to own up. Don’t judge us before you give us the chance to prove ourselves,” he said. Takavada said ZIFA structures needed to be re-aligned and will only improve with the inclusion of councillors in decision making. He believes that a lot needs to be done towards the provision of infrastructure and grassroots development.

He said ZIFA needed to cleanse its image and rebuild the trust with the corporate world. “It’s a mammoth task. I want the councillors to see the light. I have done a lot in football. I think I am the right person for the job and I have everything one needs to lead ZIFA.

“My plea is for the councillors to give former players a chance probably just for the two years and assess us. “There is no transparency at ZIFA at the moment. There is no corporate governance and do we want to go back to the same situation again by making the same mistake we made at the previous election?”

Takavada has played professional football for Gweru United, Tornadoes, and Darryn Tornadoes. In 1984, he was voted the Soccer Star of the Year when he turned out for Ziscosteel.

He has also been in the national team technical structures when he worked under Wieslaw Grabowski and also served as assistant to Clemence Westerhof. Locally, he has guided Shabanie in 2001 and 2002 when he was the technical advisor.

Former Dynamos and Warriors defender Misheck Chidzambwa and Mtizwa hailed Takavada for taking the brave stance and compete for the top job. “This is a positive development because that is his field. If he is selected I am sure he knows exactly what to do.

“Footballers usually are not involved, but he was brave enough. It was worrying, but I am glad he has stood up,” said Chidzambwa. Former CAPS United and Black Rhinos star, Mtizwa, said many retired footballers were rallying behind Takavada’s candidature.

“In fact, ex-footballers should be involved at all levels. Takavada has done a noble thing and we want him to win. Even if he loses, we hope that whoever gets in office should be able to tap from his knowledge,” said Mtizwa.