The good, ugly faces of Zifa

Sport
It is good to give credit where it is due and for once, Zifa are moving in the right direction in as far as the Warriors are concerned.

It is good to give credit where it is due and for once, Zifa are moving in the right direction in as far as the Warriors are concerned.

insidesport with MICHAEL KARIATI

Yesterday’s international friendly match against Zambia, the upcoming match against Tanzania on November 14 and the others which have been promised by the association’s president Phillip Chiyangwa shows that Zifa have woken up from their slumber.

The Chipolopolo friendly might not have been the best for the 2017 Nations Cup preparations as it did not feature most of the players that coach Kalisto Pasuwa will take to Gabon, but at least it was a good starting point.

The one or two players who Pasuwa will take to the finals benefitted from the Zambian friendly and will use the experience garnered when they join the foreign-based players for the other matches to come.

Chiyangwa says they are looking at one or two friendly matches against North African opposition, like Egypt and Morocco. If that happens, it would be good for the Warriors, considering the fact that they are in the same group with Algeria and Tunisia.

The Zambian friendly match was the foundation. It is now up to Zifa to build on the rock they have laid.

The ugly side of Zifa

The drama surrounding the relegation and promotion of teams out and into the Premier Soccer League clearly shows the calibre of football leaders there is in Zimbabwean football.

By reversing a decision made before the start of the season, the Zifa Assembly has created confusion and has thrown Zimbabwean football into a mess that will be difficult to come out of.

For the whole year, clubs in the Premiership had been competing on the belief that only two teams would be relegated the end of the season, only for the 58-member football body to reverse that long held belief.

That decision coming only two matches before the curtain comes down on the Premiership programme, has thrown the whole relegation and promotion exercise into turmoil.

If not well-handled, this issue has the potential of derailing the start of the 2017 Premier Soccer League programme as clubs fight for their right to stay or get promoted into the Premiership.

The question is: Why did the Zifa Assembly wait until just before the end of the season to come up with such a resolution. A resolution which should have been made before the start of the season, as was the case with the decision to relegate two teams?

Who exactly are the majority of the Zifa Assembly members trying to appease or protect?

Is this body — whose composition also includes members from beach football, five-a-side soccer, primary and secondary school representatives, area zone football, and women’s football — qualified to make decisions on the Premier Soccer League?

How can associations like beach football, five-a-side soccer, and women’s football which are not active at the moment be made to dictate the way football should be run in the country?

Where is beach football played in Zimbabwe for them to have a say on the composition of the top flight football league?

These are some of the questions that need answers as the relegation and promotion case demands a solution. Chiyangwa has indicated that they are going to have a look at the matter at Zifa board level. The Zifa boss, however, should be warned that this is an issue that needs immediate attention before it explodes into something that Zifa cannot handle.

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