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Grace Chingoma-Senior Sports Reporter

THE local women’s football constituency is likely to get the post of vice-president reserved for them in the ZIFA Executive for increased representation in the football administration.

Women’s football is also set to have increased independence when it comes to accessing their specific grant from FIFA that is currently managed by ZIFA on their behalf.

These recommendations are contained in the ZIFA Restructuring Committee final report that was presented by the Sports and Recreation Commission yesterday.

The committee that was tasked a year ago to review the game structures and investigations into the mother body by the Sports Commission has come up with submissions as well as recommendations that are set to revolutionise and empower women’s football. Women’s football is currently treated differently to the men’s game in Zimbabwe. 

The stakeholders in women’s football want these proposals looked into and adopted into the new ZIFA constitution.

Women are clamouring for amendments to some of the sections of the Constitution to cater for their interests.

“Amend Article 21.4 to read ‘The 44 delegates of Zimbabwe Women Football shall all be female’;

“Amend Article 32.1 to read ‘The president must be either male or female, and no candidate may be discriminated against based on gender’.

“Amend Article 32.2 to read ‘The two vice presidents chosen by Congress must be gender balanced, with one male and one female’.

“Women’s football should be given more consideration in terms of its representation on the ZIFA,” read part of the Committee’s findings.

The women’s constituency wants the expansion of the ZIFA Electoral College to 102 slots so that 44 are entirely reserved for women.

Furthermore, women’s football is demanding a seat in the ZIFA presidium. Currently, the ZIFA Constitution caters to one woman in the executive committee, a post that Barbara Chikosi holds.

But the Committee established that women want the second most powerful seat reserved for a woman by having two vice presidents. The other vice president will be a man.    

The committee chaired by lawyer Blessing Rugara noted a number of anomalies regarding women’s football and their submissions if implemented by ZIFA will go a long way in empowering women.

 Addressing a press briefing in Harare yesterday, the Sports Commission chairman Gerald Mlotshwa said the committee has recommended mechanisms for handling women’s football FIFA grants.

 “There needs to be a mechanism put in place where women’s football is able in its own right to apply to FIFA/CAF for funding. Those mechanisms are also put in place to allow for use of disbursement of that funding directly to the women’s football sector as well, rather than what has happened in the past where women did not have control over how much is asked for, how much is actually disbursed and what is actually allocated to them.

“We saw last year the letter that was written to FIFA by the chairperson of the women’s league asking for confirmation as to what was actually sent to ZIFA in so far as women’s football is concerned. In fact, she made the allegations that they had not received any of this funding. I think the figure floating around that time was half a million United States dollars,” said Mlotshwa.           

In their voluminous report, the Restructuring Committee strongly recommended women’s empowerment in football.

“Empower women to manage women’s football in Zimbabwe.

“Allow women’s league to have direct access to FIFA funding so that such funding flows directly to the women’s game.

“Include women administrators in all aspects of football driven by quotas,” read part of the recommendations.

These submissions will ensure that the aims of women’s football thus “providing more opportunities for women and girls to take part in competitive football, reduction of the social stigma of women and girls in football and providing a safe space for women to participate in all levels of football in Zimbabwe are met.”