FORMER Zifa Central Soccer League (CSL) chairman Patrick Hokonya has become the first local football administrator to publicly express interest in contesting for the Zifa presidency, should elections be held this year as stipulated in the football mother body’s constitution.
BY SPORTS REPORTER
The 45-year-old administrator made the declaration before arguing that incumbent Zifa president Phillip Chiyangwa should respect the constitution by stepping down following the expiry of his term of office on March 29.
“I have made no secret that I want to stand in the upcoming elections and I want to challenge for the position of Zifa president,” Hokonya said.
“I believe I have the qualifications to be the president of the association based on my soccer experience and academic qualifications. I also believe that I have the energy to resuscitate our football. I have seen that there’s a lot in our football that has gone wrong and I believe I can offer solutions, which can take our football forward.”
Hokonya said Chiyangwa was running football in the country illegally, with complete disregard of the football governing body’s constitution.
“It’s probably the first time in the history of the association where we have witnessed such utter disrespect of the constitution by a sitting excecutive. I don’t think anyone is saying the executive must go or Chiyangwa must go. What everyone is saying is that they must respect the constitution. It was a well-known fact that from the beginning of the year we should have started preparing for an election, from the lower level of football, from the area zones.
“A lot of decisions were shelved because people were waiting for a new excecutive to be in place so quite a lot of things have not been done because there was an election that everyone was waiting for, but suddenly we are told there’s no election. What it means is that whatever is happening right now in Zimbabwean football, there’s a lot of confusion and this can’t be allowed to continue,” he said.
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Hokonya’s football administration career started off with Zimbabwe Saints Football Club when he was appointed club treasurer in the interim committee set up by life members in 2006.
He was elected club’s secretary general in 2007, a position he held until his appointment as the inaugural CSL chairman in 2010.
