Afcon dream: Can Dube be trusted?

04 May, 2014 - 00:05 0 Views
Afcon dream: Can Dube be trusted? Cuthbert Dube

The Sunday Mail

Cuthbert Dube

Cuthbert Dube

Ishemunyoro Chingwere
It appears as if the Warriors were handed a fair, if not easy, passage to the group stages of the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign having been drawn against lightweights Tanzania in the first round.
A victory over the Taifa Stars, which should be considered routine, will see Ian “Dibango” Gorowa’s men facing the winner of the clash between Mozambique and South Sudan.

The successful negotiation of the Mozambique or South Sudan hurdle will usher the Warriors into the group stage where they will face Zambia, Cape Verde and Niger.

The top two teams qualify for Afcon.
Pretty straightforward, isn’t it?

It appears to be, until Zifa’s blundering record comes into play.
It seems straightforward until it’s pointed out that during his first four-year term Zifa president Cuthbert Dube twice presided over the failure of the national team to qualify for the soccer showcase when it seemed much easier to qualify than fail to.

Zimbabwe missed out on the 2012 and 2013 campaigns on the back of some questionable decisions by the Dube-led Zifa board.
The Warriors were primed for a ticket to the 2012 finals, which were co-hosted by Gabon and Equatorial Guinea, until a shocking decision to appoint Norman Mapeza and Madinda Ndlovu as co-coaches.

Mapeza had single-handedly put the Warriors a step away from Afcon and the decision to have Ndlovu join the ship defied logic.
The arrangement cast a shadow of confusion over the Warriors camp ahead of a crucial final qualifier against Cape Verde.

The result of those chaotic preparations was a poor home show which saw the team being held to a goalless draw at home before going to lose the away leg 2-1.

Reports of disunity and match fixing characterised the period of madness which saw Cape Verde making their maiden Afcon appearance at Zimbabwe’s expense.

As the 2013 Afcon qualification campaign was about to get into motion, Mapeza was suspended for his alleged involvement in the Asiagate match fixing scandal by a Zifa board that seemed hell bent in booting him out of the Warriors set-up.

Mapeza’s suspension came at a time when he had built a solid team that had captured the nation’s attention by holding its own against continental heavyweights such as Mali.

Rahman Gumbo came in with a new approach, but he, too, failed to take the nation to the Afcon finals in South Africa as the team was booted out by Angola.

The trip to Angola had been in doubt until Mbada Diamonds chipped in at the 11th hour and chartered a plane for the team.
Zimbabwe won the first leg 3-1 but bowed out on away goals rule after falling 0-2 in Luanda.

Now with the 2015 qualifiers beckoning, the nation hopes that the Zifa board will give Gorowa all the support he needs.
Dube and his board should make sure that at the end of the day Gorowa has no one but himself to blame if he fails to book us our third Afcon ticket after dances in 2004 and 2006 under Sunday Chidzambwa and Charles Mhlauri respectively.

Gorowa has on several occasions voiced his concern over the manner in which Zifa conducts business when it comes to the national team.
At one point, the coach had to use his own money to buy food for the Warriors after Zifa “forgot” to do so.

Cases of players threatening to boycott training because of non-payment of bonuses, shambolic travel arrangements and interference in technical issues have also characterised Dube’s reign as Zifa boss.

Players who did duty at the African Nations Championships in South Africa early this year battled to get their bonuses.
The team members later received US$1 000 each despite claims that they had been promised half of the US$250 000 that Zimbabwe pocketed after finishing fourth at the biennial tournament.

Dube has an appalling record as Zifa president and if he is indeed serious about making amends for a disastrous first term in office, then he should ensure that the Morocco 2015 dream is not choked by administrative bungling.

The Zifa boss has been hailed in some sectors for footing the national team’s travel and camping costs, but observers argue that this arrangement is not sustainable. Zifa owes Dube’s company, Buymore Investments, an estimated US$1 million having received several financial packages to pay key personnel ranging from Zifa board members, employees, councillors, consultants, national team players, coaches and backroom staff.

Zifa’s audited accounts for 2012 show that in just 10 months, from January to October 2012, the association received US$69 799.
In January of that year, Buymore Investments poured US$17 325 into Zifa as loans for the payment of staff salaries.

There was another payment of US$14 200 the following month, towards the same salary bill from the same source, and in March US$9 700 was paid for the exercise.

The last payment towards salaries in 2012 from Buymore Investments, according to the statement, came on August 10, 2012 when there was a one-off payment of US$10 000 to cater for the employees.

Dube’s modus operandi is in contrast with the pledge he made when he successfully sought a maiden term in office back in 2010.
Back then, Dube promised to rope in the corporate world to sponsor the national team as well as ensure that players were well catered for.
Even as he sought re-election in March this year, Dube once again promised to bring professionalism to Zifa.

It remains to be seen if he will fulfil his pledge at the second time of asking. The nation is eagerly waiting to see whether it won’t be the old story where football-loving Zimbabweans will be disappointed yet again, not by the Warriors on the pitch but by the usual culprits at Zifa House.

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