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Omega Sibanda

Sikhumbuzo Moyo in BULAWAYO
ZIFA vice-president Omega Sibanda has distanced himself from the appointment of representative junior national team coaches. On Friday, Zifa announced the appointment of Under-13 to Under-23 coaches as well as women’s junior teams’ gaffers. Callisto Pasuwa was appointed as head coach of the Olympic squad, the Under-23s, and takes over from the legendary Peter Ndlovu who joined Mamelodi Sundowns last season.
Jairos Tapera becomes the Under-20 coach.

Tapera is currently employed by FC Platinum as their juniors’ coach and the platinum miners are known to have bailed out the cash-strapped Zifa on numerous occasions and this could be payback time.

Little known Tafadzwa Mashiri, who formerly coached Gutu High School in 2012, is the newly-appointed head coach for the Under-17 national team with former Kiglon head coach Pearson Matipedza coming in as the new national Under-15 head coach.

James Mahala from the Naph structures will head the Under-13 national team.
Sithethelelwe ‘Kwinji-15’ Sibanda has been appointed as head coach of both the Under-20 and Under- 23 women’s national teams while Hwange High School English teacher Evelyn Rimai is the new Under-17 national team boss.

However, Sibanda yesterday said he only read about the appointment in the newspapers.
“I don’t know anything about that, I only saw it in the papers like everybody else,” said Sibanda as cracks continue to haunt Zimbabwe football with key people who should be making decisions being sidelined.

“I don’t remember being part of the board that approved those appointments, may be my president Cuthbert Dube knows better.”
Several board members were not happy with the process used to employ Maxwell Takaendesa Jongwe as technical director to replace Nelson Matongorere.

Even though the Zifa board members have not been speaking out, a good number of them feel sidelined by a process where decisions seem to be made by one or two individuals.

Several development coaches, who have laboured for years producing stars in Bulawayo and Harare, were overlooked.
Zifa communications manager Xolisani Gwesela said the appointments came through recommendations from the high performance technical committee led by board member John Phiri and the board approved them.

Pressed on the Zifa appointed technical committee, Sibanda said as far as he was concerned that committee was an ad-hoc body put up specifically to monitor the performance of former Warriors coach Ian Gorowa.

“I don’t know whether they now have the powers to appoint or recommend coaches,” he said.
According to the recently amended Zifa constitution Article 34, (K) Powers of the executive, the executive has the mandate to appoint coaches for the representative team and other technical staff.

The appointments have already drawn the ire of observers from Bulawayo after all the coaches from the city were snubbed except Sibanda.