Bungling Zifa should put house in order

Obituaries
CHAOTIC events preceding the Warriors’ trip to Comoros for yesterday’s 2016 Chan qualifier showed how Zimbabwean football has descended to new depths of mediocrity.

CHAOTIC events preceding the Warriors’ trip to Comoros for yesterday’s 2016 Chan qualifier showed how Zimbabwean football has descended to new depths of mediocrity.

The Standard Editorial

It is fast becoming a norm that national team assignments are becoming charades characterised with bungling of great proportions.

Just last month, the Warriors missed their flight to Malawi for an Afcon qualifier while on strike demanding appearance fees and had to endure a punishing 600km road trip to Blantyre. They arrived just 14 hours before the match.

Things hit a new low yesterday when the Warriors departed Harare for Comorian capital Moroni, arriving there less than three hours before the match.

The trip was made possible after government, at the last minute, committed itself to fund the trip.

Until Friday night, the always bungling Zifa had been battling to secure flight tickets for Saturday’s match and the trip hung in the balance.

To make matters worse, Zifa were also struggling to persuade coach Kalisto Pasuwa, who had quit the team over unpaid salaries for 10 months, to reconsider. This resulted in the team missing a full day of training.

Pasuwa then left for Comoros without getting his dues and there is no guarantee that he will be paid his money upon return. The Warriors are still to receive the $42 000 promised to them by Zifa president Cuthbert Dube ahead of the Malawi trip.

The clueless Dube administration has become the most vociferous in calling for government’s financial support, unlike previous Zifa regimes or other national team associations.

But it is not a secret that the bankrupt Zimbabwean government has other priorities and has never seriously committed itself to financially assisting sporting activities.

Zimbabwe Cricket, for example, pumps out millions whenever they host any country but they bank on television rights and corporate sponsorship. Rugby, tennis, athletics always sail through by engaging sponsors and even school sports are well-funded despite an ailing economy that has seen most companies struggle.

But there is no strategic plan to raise funds at Zifa as most of the time politics takes centre stage. Dube has refused to quit and is determined to hold on to power at the expense of the game.

Clearly, Zifa should put its house in order and be able to court sponsors who are willing to put their money in soccer. Football is the most followed sport in Zimbabwe and Zifa has a huge audience craved for by any corporate entity.