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Eddie Chikamhi Senior Sports Reporter

ZIFA have revived the talk about establishing a football Hall of Fame to honour the country’s sports luminaries like George Shaya, Peter Ndlovu and Sunday “Mhofu” Chidzambwa.

The programme has been on the cards for several years but successive ZIFA administrations have failed to deliver.

However, ZIFA president Felton Kamambo and his executive, revisited the issue at their last board meeting and set up a four-member committee to steer the proposal into reality.

Although no time frames have been given, the committee is expected to start working before the end of the year.

“The board agreed on a resolution to set up a Hall of Fame,” said Kamambo.

“We deliberated on some of the modalities and the appointment of a committee which will choose our Hall of Famers.

“Four members were nominated but it’s unfortunate, as of now, we cannot give names of those nominated until we get in touch with them.

“But, we will give full details in the near future after official communications.”

The football Hall of Fame is meant to preserve the history of the sport in the country while, at the same time, giving recognition to the heroes who helped the domestic game scale heights.

The football leadership have often been criticised for not giving due recognition to the men and women who have been behind the country’s successful stories.

Zimbabwean football has a lot to celebrate, despite limited success on the international arena.

The setting up of the Hall of Fame will give a better appreciation of the country’s football heroes and the legacy they left behind.

ZIFA recently announced that former Warriors coach and captain, Chidzambwa, will be one of the candidates for the honour.

Chidzambwa was the first man to captain the Warriors soon after Independence in 1980.

He has had many milestones, in his glittering football career, as a player and later on as coach.

He was the first coach to lead the Warriors to their maiden AFCON finals in 2004.

He is the only coach to lead them at two AFCON finals. There have been many players, officials, coaches and clubs who have also been touted for the Hall of Fame.

The likes of five-time Soccer Star of the Year Shaya, Peter Ndlovu, who became the first African to feature in the English Premiership in 1992, legendary goalkeeper Bruce Grobbelaar and his medal haul with Liverpool in the 1980s, Moses Chunga who achieved iconic status with his Belgian club Eendracht Aalst have also been among the most successful Zimbabweans over the years. Felix Tangawarima, Brighton Mudzamiri and the late Felix Sanyika are some of the country’s finest referees.

There have also been some success stories written by Zimbabwean teams that need to be celebrated, top among them, the Mighty Warriors Class of 2016 who took part at the Olympic Games in Brazil.