The Sunday Mail
Edzai Kasinauyo, today, just like the days when he was active on the soccer field, hardly courts attention. Negative or otherwise.
Making his first mark on the domestic scene at CAPS United, before moving to Arcadia United and lastly Blackpool, before moving to South Africa — where he had mixed fortunes with Ajax Cape Town, Hellenic, Moroka Swallows and FC AK, Edzai was always living in the shadows of his exploits on the soccer field.
His demeanour off the field has always been cool, level-headed and not headline-grabbing.
Edzai Kasinauyo
The same can be said of the 40-year-old today, as he is content to walk softly and carry a big stick, so to speak.
So you can imagine the sloganeering, manifestos, promises and even mud-slinging that is characterising Saturday’s Zifa elections, this against the quiet persona of Edzai!
“I am not perturbed by the noise that is being made, that is what elections are all about. But for some of us, we have our work to talk and campaign for us, we have been working way before the elections.
“I have always had junior development of football at the centre of my heart, ZIFA elections or no elections. Many football fans might be familiar with my involvement with the VW tournaments, where we identify young footballers and take them to Europe, and this is something that I have always done,” says the soft-spoken former midfielder.
“Getting on the board is the first priority, after that we will see what portfolio comes my way though my strength is development. I cannot vie for finance because I don’t have those credentials,” he adds.
Amidst all the fury of Saturday’s elections, Edzai Kasinauyo — gunning for a board seat — has opted not to be swayed by the election furore, rather opting to maintain his usual cool and get down to what he knows best. Yesterday and today, 32 schools — 16 primary schools and an equivalent number of secondary schools —convened at Mudhindo Township in Guruve for a round-robin tournament that comes to an end today.
“Besides coming from Guruve, the other reason why I have opted to have such a tournament is the realisation that rural areas, just like urban areas, have a large repository of football talent and the onus is on us to tap and nurture that talent. It is common cause that the rural child is more disadvantaged, compared to the urban one, and it is through such initiatives that the abundant talent in the rural areas can be identified.”
The competition will see soccer kits, soccer balls, medals and cash prizes being won.
“There are a number of prizes, some of them for the school and some individual prizes and it is my hope that if such tournaments are held regularly and widely, our dream of qualifying for Qatar 2022 will not be off the mark.
“The year 2022 is some seven years from now and these are the players that we need to be looking at. This is where the talent that will take us to Qatar will be found.
“It is a question of foresight, vision, determination and hard work, the characteristics which are all the hallmarks of a footballer.”
Turning to Saturday’s elections, Edzai, quoting widely from Vince Lombard, says his pledge revolves around “we” rather than “I”, “because football is a team sport and all the greatest accomplishments were never achieved by one individual but by all of us. Winning is a habit, unfortunately so is losing”.
With a vision, mission and pledges that transcend youth, women and men’s football, Edzai is of the opinion that the priority should be to establish a formal organisational structure that runs from junior football right up to the senior level of the game, not forgetting the role played by former players who are role models to current and future players.
However, the big question is will the Zifa councillors take that into account when they converge in Harare to elect a new board or, as they have often done, they will trade votes on a bloc basis that is anchored on the “scratch my back and I will scratch yours” mantra?
But as Edzai insists, he was into the development of the game long before the Zifa elections and will remain in the trenches long after the electioneering noise dies down, simply because football is his life and business.
