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Jefferson Ndhlovu

Special Correspondent

ZIMBABWEAN football has been on an extended and indefinite hiatus defaultly caused by the deadly coronavirus pandemic.

This has been an uncomfortable break, especially for players and other support staff in football whose livelihoods virtually depend on the smooth-running of the beautiful game.

Clubs that pay these players are reeling in pain. They are probably paying salaries without any return on investment.

It’s a crazy and disturbing scenario.

Tagging along the football lull, we have experienced some boardroom drama that has culminated in the suspension of the accounting officers at ZIFA and the Sports Commission, Joseph Mamutse and Prince Mupazviriho respectively.

The latter’s suspension has gone to slumber, and we have not heard so much about it. Possibly it’s being handled constructively and professionally.

But, it is the former that is causing rumpus and grating in the football family.

My observation is premised on the contribution that leads to the brute and intrusiveness by the FIFA that has, in its misinformed bullying behaviour, decided to now jump the yard stick and involve itself in Zimbabwe’s national matters.

And, we have a team of local football fathers who don’t see anything wrong with that.

There is a communique that is dated December 30, 2020, from FIFA to ZIFA, which has only surfaced to the public in the last couple of days.

In that letter I took interest in the wording of one part in the note.

And it reads: “Finally, we remain available to discuss with the relevant government authorities in Zimbabwe possible amendments to the Act to ensure that future decisions taken on the basis of such piece of legislation are based on objective and balanced criteria.

“We, therefore, kindly invite you to liaise with SRC to inquire whether a meeting could be organised in the coming months to exchange on the matter.”

The author of the quoted letter is Congolese FIFA Chief Member Associations Officer, Véron Mosengo-Omba, who was handpicked into that position by Gianni Infantino upon his ascendancy to the FIFA presidency.

The two used to be classmates.

Masengo-Omba is telling the constitution makers in Zimbabwe, which is a sovereign state, to amend the SRC Act to suit the likes of FIFA.

He is saying the SRC Act needs to be an Act of FIFA not an Act of the Republic of Zimbabwe.

That is by far stretching its mandate way too far.

By its design, wrong or right, the SRC Act was not brought into existence for football reasons.

But it was for all sports codes and affects everyone that affiliates to it.

The fact that football is a superior sport in Zimbabwe does not give it the exclusiveness or VIP latitude to micro-manage the affairs of the Sports Commission and, by extension, inviting the ills of FIFA and wannabe big boy attitude.

This FIFA that has so much been against the so-called government interference or what some called “Protecting Private Transnational Authority Against Public Intervention”, appears hypocritical on many fronts.

FIFA and its confederations are very stubborn to facts.

One moment, they want to feast on the same table with governments because it suits FIFA. But suddenly, they place needles and pins on the same platform when it does not suit them.

World over, should a member association show interest in hosting a major footballing tournament like the World Cup, which FIFA surreptitiously chooses to call being organised by FIFA and hosted by a particular country, FIFA will not even entertain that application in the absence of the government guarantee that they will bankroll the hosting and development of the facilities to host that tournament.

The Government takes money from taxpayers to fund those expensive football projects.

Should then taxpayers want to question what’s going on with their hard-earned money through the proxy called government, FIFA raises the red flag threatening expunging the member association.

That’s Mafia style!

In all that, what FIFA does is to inspect the facilities to meet their own standards at the expense of the host nations.

Sometimes they even cancel the hosting rights in a bully-like manner without considering the investment losses.

FIFA will not accept to endorse an association’s constitution if at all it gets changed or amended until the host government, through a proxy like in Zimbabwe, the Sports Commission, also endorses.

So, why then demand this morning government interference and late afternoon the story changes?

Logic then questions.

FIFA can only listen one-sidedly.

That is when it wants its way not the other way. Otherwise, you risk the wrath of being banned.

FIFA under its former boss Sepp Blatter realised how rich the football game was slowly becoming worldwide.

And, they needed to ring fence their cult organisation by introducing these clandestine, protective and sometimes fraudulent activities clauses to thwart being questioned.

And, this was the era of the disgraced Blatter, together with dodgy Issa Hayatous of this continent, who almost chiefdomised their stay at the helm.

These clauses by FIFA that stopped the so-called “government interference” in many ways gave birth to dodgy board members to run football associations, especially in the Third World countries and Third World Confederations.

They almost created lifetime leaders.

Prior to 1988, FIFA respected the respective governments.

But today even the head of states, the Presidents have to be cautious when addressing the ills in football.

Football as we know it, in third world countries is the biggest sport.

And, arguably, it is the only one that bridges many social divides by uniting many, be it in civil war, political tensions, religious polarisation and all.

They all come together and throw away differences to unite for football.

FIFA knows the emotional part of this arrangement.

Prior to these stealth and insulated arrangements, FAs, especially in Africa, respected the respective governments.

Simply put, they worked in partnership and support was in abundance.

But, today, that is no longer the case.

Worryingly, the bully bulldog called FIFA will show its ugly and tainted teeth.

FIFA uses that emotion card to protect its own, who are sometimes useless and corrupt elected leaders.

And many of them are bankrupt when it comes to how to grow and develop football.

So, this leads us to get an insult from the likes of Mosengo-Omba that a sovereign state as Zimbabwe must invite him or FIFA to draft an amendment to the SRC Act and be debated on by parliamentarians of Zimbabwe.

Clearly this is preposterous and a behaviour describable as colonial absentee landlord.

This is what Felton Kamambo and his ZIFA lieutenants are exposing the country to.

They are behaving like they are not Zimbabweans at all — totally rude and unpatriotic.

Football has been there before them and it will be there after them.

Should they then receive and acknowledge a letter that insults their own country and have the audacity to forward it to the Sports Commission and indirectly to the Government?

And they unashamedly sit and wait for a response from the Sports Commission?

How low can people stoop?

It is embarrassing and condescending for Kamambo and his colleagues.

Mamutse’s suspension by the Sports Commission could have easily been handled internally.

But, the ZIFA board members think any criticism against them is a threat to their cookie jar.

And, as such, they need to protect it.

The best defence is the cowardly action of running to the animal sanctuary called FIFA.

Maybe it’s about time to absorb the wrath of FIFA so that the country can start rebuilding our football without the bottlenecks of threats from FIFA.

Jefferson Ndhlovu is a Zimbabwean who is based in Johannesburg, South Africa, who specialises in writing about African football. He wrote this article in his own personal capacity.