The Sunday Mail
Ishemunyoro Chingwere and Langton Nyakwenda
Embattled zifa president Cuthbert Dube, who is under immense pressure from Government and stakeholders to give the ailing national game a clear developmental trajectory or relinquish his post, says he harbours no hard feelings should Government decide to dissolve his board.
The Harare businessman, under whose watch the Warriors have missed three consecutive afcon finals coupled with the failure by junior national teams to make a mark on the international stage, has failed to convince this football success-starved nation that he is the right candidate to rescue the game.
Deputy Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture Tabetha Kanengoni-Malinga last week ratcheted pressure on the zifa board and said the Ministry of Sport was considering dissolving it regardless of the consequences that might see fifa banning Zimbabwe from international football.
Yesterday, Dube’s board was summoned by the Sports and Recreation Commission for a closed-door meeting.
As critics gather on his doorstep and pressure mounts on him, Dube appealed that stakeholders “differ honourably and progressively” adding that should Government decide to dissolve his board, he will accept the position.
“I will not be worried or harbour any hard feelings if Government or the Sports and Recreation Commission dissolve me and the board.
“I think it will be a decision that they will arrive at after a clear analysis of what is on the ground and whatever decision they will make it will be in the best interest of football,” said Dube.
Asked if he does not think his leadership has let down the game in light of the criticism that he has received from the Deputy Minister and stakeholders, the under-fire zifa boss said the Government official has every right to be disappointed and that he is also equally worried. “I appreciate what the minister is saying when she says she is frustrated with the state of our football. But it is not only her, everybody else is, including myself.
“All of us would want to see the Warriors become a force to reckon with on the international scene. We all dream of a day when the mere mention of Zimbabwe will send tremors in international football circles.
“As we march towards that dream, we need to identify the drawbacks that are hindering us, let us not fall into the trap of personality clashes but rather look at the problems holistically and trace their roots if we are to overcome them.
“From the way I see things, this issue is not just about Cuthbert Dube only. It’s a problem primarily anchored on the lack of financial resources.
“I am sure everybody knows what has to be done for our football to succeed. We all know we need a vibrant junior policy, we all know we need to prepare our national teams well ahead of international engagements, but the first question is how are you going to do this without money?
“How are we as an association going to organise competitive friendly matches every fifa calendar when we don’t have money to pay appearance fees demanded by some of these teams that ideally would want to play?
“We know the country will benefit a lot if, for example, we send our junior national teams for international training camps where they can be exposed to the demands of the international game. But again how are we going to do this without money?” retorted Dube.
“I think it is for this reason that you realise the assembly, while not happy with our current standing, is not talking about voting me out because they are fully aware of what the problem is,” he said.
Chairperson of the parliamentary portfolio committee on Education, Sport, Arts and Culture Temba Mliswa said Government should come up with a National Sports Policy document which will be used to measure the performance of administrators.
Mliswa said Government also needs to assist not only zifa but all national associations with a purse to fulfil their mandate whereupon any drastic corrective measures will be welcome should associations either abuse these budgets or fail to meet laid-down goals.
“The Ministry of Sport should ensure there is a policy in place while the SRC works on the implementation side through associations, but again there is no policy that comes out without it being supported by money.
“A budget should thus be pushed through to Treasury, and as parliamentarians we lobby for that money to come for the development of sport.
“Without these frameworks, it is very difficult to evaluate the performance of zifa,” said Mliswa.
