Zimpapers Logo

Dr Chiyangwa

Sikhumbuzo Moyo in Bulawayo
FROM the very first day when property mogul Philip Chiyangwa officially confirmed that he would be running for the vacant ZIFA presidency post, some critics were quick to scream out loud that politicians must stay out of our football while others chose to be broad by declaring that politicians must stay out of football totally, not necessarily ours only.

Everyone has a right to throw in his opinion, right or wrong but at the end of the day its only logic and reason that will prevail, like what will indeed eventually happen when the 58 councillors gather to elect the ZIFA president, his deputy and four board members on December 5.

The anti-Chiyangwa lobby, however, is still not able to table any valid reason as to why the Harare businessman must not stand for elections and even be elected into that office. We have only been hearing “Chiyangwa no, Chiyangwa must not and cannot be our football president”.

The only “reason” is that the flamboyant property mogul is a politician and therefore must not stand for any football post in the country. We have always prided ourselves as Zimbabweans that we are a law abiding and tax-paying citizens but we now seem to want to partially apply the law to the detriment of others. The ZIFA constitution is very clear on who should run for football office in Zimbabwe and until that constitution is amended to say otherwise, then Chiyangwa and indeed any politician in Zimbabwe is eligible to run as is any person, whether Zimbabwean or not as long as he fits the residency criteria which says one must have been resident in Zimbabwe and for a period of not less than five years during the period of 20 years immediately preceding the date of his nomination.

One must also have five years of football administration experience and not have been convicted by our courts of law for any criminal offence. If therefore Chiyangwa fits that bill, why shouldn’t he be allowed to stand?

Personally I think at the moment our football needs politicians up until such a time that the terrain is now fine for the so-called “football persons” and or former football players to come on board and take over the race.

Our football, at the moment, needs a politician, someone who does not need an appointment a month prior to the meeting, to meet a Cabinet minister. Our football needs someone who can discuss serious business issues over a cup of coffee or during a Wednesday afternoon golf match with a Cabinet minister and or indeed a legislator.

During such informal meetings, the leader of our football can then impress upon the minister the importance of drafting laws that promote the involvement of industry in sport because at the moment, there are no such laws hence the lack of active participation by the corporate world in our sport in general and football in particular. In some countries, businesses scramble over each other trying to sponsor various sports codes in those countries and that is not because those codes are led by former players, it’s simply because of friendly laws that have been enacted by legislators who realise that sport is a multi-billion-dollar industry.

Why is it that some multinational companies are actively involved in sports sponsorship in some countries yet in Zimbabwe they are just dormant? Even if they come on board, their package is almost a drop in an ocean when compared with what they are pouring in other countries.

This is why I am an advocate for a political player to take charge of our football for now. Some people call themselves political players simply because they have friends and relatives in the high echelons of the political field in this country but that is not good enough. We need not make the mistake of comparing ourselves with Zambia that elected legendary Kalusha Bwalya into the highest football office in that country. Yes, it might all seem to be rosy for those outside but it’s also a fact that the Zambian government has been steadfast in bailing out the Bwalya regime.

In March this year Zambia survived a possible FIFA ban after its Ministry of Finance released 3,2 million kwacha to pay what it owed their former national team coach Dario Bonneti. According to Zambian media reports, Bonneti was initially owed 2,2 million kwacha but the figure shot up due to interests and the depreciation of the kwacha. FIFA had set August 2015 for a disciplinary hearing after Zambia defied a FIFA Court of Arbitration which ruled that Bonneti should be paid what is owed to him.

It’s clear therefore that had the government of Zambia not intervened, Chipolopolo just like our Warriors, would have been kicked out of the 2018 World Cup.

Just last month FAZ had a K50 000 hotel bill debt cleared by the government again.

So it’s not entirely true that when a former player takes over, the issue of debts will be a thing of the past, a lot of factors need to come together first, a process which might not happen. For now our football needs a political figure with political influence. We certainly don’t need non-patriotic leaders, people who felt embarrassed by holding a Zimbabwean passport because they probably felt too embarrassed to be identified as Zimbabweans by “their esteemed foreign corporate partners”.