The Sunday Mail
James Takavada
THE selection of the next Zifa president is now in the hands of the councillors, they are the driving force behind Zifa.
They are the true leaders in football.
I have met many councillors to hear their views on the game and the future of Zifa, just much as I have also heard from players, fans, sponsors and others who love football.
These stakeholders deserve a say in how Zifa should operate.
The game belongs to them all, I want to turn the pyramid upside down, so that the councillors, the players, the coaches, the officials, referees, the fans and sponsors are on top and the Zifa president is just there to serve and protect the game.
If I am elected, I will fully accept the responsibilities that come with the presidential office and I will not attempt to shift blame or dodge my responsibility for the actions of Zifa.
Football runs through my veins, I am a man of football inside and out, the reason why I am ready help bring about a real change: A change that will usher in a far more positive era for Zifa and its affiliates.
Football has given me so much in my life and I now want to give something back to the game that has shaped me so deeply. Throughout my career I have worked at all levels of the game.
This has given me a unique insight and understanding that I feel can enhance the discussion about the future of Zifa and the future of football. I grew up in a mining environment, playing soccer on the streets before my life changed forever through the power of football.
As a professional player, I featured for Gweru United and Ziscosteel in the late 1970s, before joining Tornados in 1984.
I was crowned the Soccer Star of the Year in 1984, a year after I was voted among the Best Africa 11 by Africa Magazine alongside the famous Egyptian El Katibu and Senegal great Jules Bocande.
I featured for the Warriors between 1981-1986, winning the Cecafa tournament with the senior team in 1985.
My coaching career took me to Lancashire Steel in 1997, Ziscosteel in 1999 and Shabanie Mine between 2001 and 2002, when I was director of football during that season when the Chinda Boys shocked Dynamos 1-0 in the BP League Cup final in Harare.
I was senior national team assistant coach to Dutchman Clement Westerhoff in 1999 and assumed the post once again in 2002 when Wielsaw Grabowski took over.
Currently, I am the director of football at Zesa Munyati.
Because of my upbringing, football-wise, I cherish the fact that I am my own man and I don’t owe anything to anybody. Therefore I can serve as Zifa president exclusively in the interest of football and its future.
It is time to shift focus away from Zifa and concentrate more on the football itself.
A series of controversies in the recent past have undermined Zifa’s credibility. Players, fans, sponsors, public officials and others who love football no longer have faith in the organisation.
Therefore, there is a critical need to rebuild public confidence in Zifa and show fans that we have football’s best interests at heart.
This means a fresh start for Zifa that involves reform in an evolutionary manner and drawing lessons to ensure the poor practices of the past are not repeated.
I promise to make Zifa a model of good ethics in order to attract corporate sponsorship and support from valuable stakeholders.
I pledge to rebuild the association into an entity that is instilled with ethical working principles, one that conducts its business in a fair and dignified manner.
There is need to make Zifa more transparent and open in the way it conducts business, ensuring honest dialogue with all stakeholders.
If elected, I will establish a proper Zifa Football Committee to concentrate on the overall state of the game and its evolution around the country.
Improving Zifa’s co-operation with Fifa and CAF is of paramount importance if we are to optimise the international match calendar for Fifa World Cup qualifiers and friendly matches.
Developing the game is key and for this to happen, we will need to ensure that Zifa funds are directly injected into local football development.
The regions play a crucial role in this area.
That is why one of my core recommendations is that 50 percent of Zifa’s revenue should be distributed directly to the regions to help fund grassroots football across the country.
If done coherently, in the right way, with a clearly-defined strategy that is centrally audited and monitored, this investment will radically enhance football opportunities for boys and girls across the country.
This will not be a simple and quick-fix job because this requires fundamental changes.
There is far too much at stake to sit on the sidelines and refuse to act — that is not the man I am.
I, therefore, urge you all to join me in ensuring a new style of leadership at Zifa, one that places football at the heart of everything it does and stands for.
James Takavada is contesting for the Zifa presidency
