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Sports Reporter
FOOTBALL administrator Joseph Mamutse is excited by the challenge of taking over the reins at the ZIFA secretariat after he was confirmed as the substantive general-secretary to fill the position that had been vacant for over a year.

Mamutse has been working in an acting capacity since April last year when he was elevated from the post of chief operating officer after his predecessor Jonathan Mashingaidze was shown the exit.

ZIFA have been hunting for a candidate to fill the position with names such as Andy Hodges and former PSL administrator Cuthbert Mutandwa being thrown around.

But ZIFA president Philip Chiyangwa put the lid on the speculation when he announced that Mamutse has been endorsed by the leadership to take over the role on a full-time basis until next year.

“The Zimbabwe Football Association is pleased to confirm the appointment of Joseph Mamutse as the substantive general-secretary with immediate effect. Mamutse’s contract will run until 2018.

“He has been the acting general-secretary since April 2016 when Jonathan Mashingaidze’s contract lapsed.

“ZIFA has great confidence and optimism in his ability to play a pivotal role in steering the overall strategic direction of the Association,” said Chiyangwa in a statement posted to the Association’s website.

Mamutse welcomed the appointment with both hands.

He said he was confident of playing his part in driving the association’s quest to take football to a higher level.

“Obviously I appreciate the vote of confidence that has been shown in me by the Executive Committee. It probably shows that I have been doing some things right and have performed well during my period as acting general-secretary.

“Of course challenges are always there in any organisation, but I would like to believe I have worked well with the executive and the secretariat to make sure that we achieved our goals.

“I think I have leant a lot of new things under the leadership of Dr Chiyangwa. He is one guy who has turned around the football landscape not only in Zimbabwe, but on the whole continent because of his leadership drive.

“So I will continue doing my best to drive the agenda of the association going forward. We have many projects that we have in our plate.

“Apart from the national teams and football development we also have technical development courses taking place countrywide, referees, beach football and also the impending construction work that should take place in developing our stadium at the ZIFA Village. I think that will be the main focus for now,” said Mamutse.