The Sunday Mail
Hastings Kamanga
A crucial issue linked to the future of local football that needs to be addressed is governance and regulation.
The current system has been collapsing under the weight of various pressures.
There is growing debate over ownership, control and the future of football clubs, leagues, ZIFA and the game itself.
Governance is about adding value.
The current state of local football is clear for everyone to see.
Football administrators have extracted value out of clubs that took generations to create.
Dynamos are the biggest sporting brand in Zimbabwe, and the most successful in the history of local football.
Ownership wrangles at the club are, however, not new — they have been dogging the club for decades.
This has consequently affected DeMbare’s fan base (attendance), quality of players it attracts, revenue generation and the general management of the club.
There is need to create a model that aligns Dynamos with 21st century structures of football clubs.
Football is now an industry, business, media and entertainment product.
Football clubs are brands.
Local administrators are the ones who have failed to pay attention to peculiarities of football as a product in economic terms.
It is important to recognise the role of fans in the creation of the product that they are asked to buy.
Fans are crucial to football, not just to generate gate-takings, but to create a joint unique product.
The governance of ZIFA, their affiliates and football clubs is currently done along amateur ethos, clouded by poor administration and chronic financial problems.
Ownership of football clubs seems to be the biggest problem in Zimbabwe.
The clubs are operated in a system of governance that deviates from contemporary business practices.
It is a system that has not worked but has been allowed to exist for a very long time.
Not many football club owners make money from owning a club, especially those that are successful.
Most of the revenue coming into football goes towards players’ wages and transfers.
Value in a football club is created through a business model that works and brings in additional revenue and increases participation.
The value created in a football club must be protected through the quality of governance.
Failure in governance results in value destruction.
It is not really sustainable to run a club, as it is not viable economically because of poor governance structures.
Those in control mostly lack leadership skills to drive value and make quality strategic decisions.
Good governance engenders trust and protects the brand.
It is not about accessing privileges, status enhancement or entitlement.
Clubs with huge traditions and cultural significance to their local communities have gone defunct, and will probably never return to the top-flight.
We have teams such as Mhangura, Rio Tinto, Black Aces, Zimbabwe Saints and Arcadia, to name a few.
And Dynamos are not immune to this.
If a lasting solution to their ownership wrangle is not found, they could easily cease to exist.
Globalisation of sport capital has removed many traditional peculiarities between football organisations throughout the world.
Corporate structures owned or controlled on market principles are now common.
It is crucial for club owners and leagues to understand that the economics of sport is built on a number of fundamentals such as uncertainty of outcome, profit maximisation, utility maximisation, economic equilibrium for product and labour market for players.
Elite football is about money and performance.
What really is a football club?
It is the embodiment of community assets, usually a geographical monopoly or duopoly, domiciled in a particular area.
There are a number of factors that distinguish football clubs from conventional businesses such as stadium leases, monopoly they hold in negotiating for broadcasting rights, relationship and loyalty of fans and depreciation of capital for player contracts.
At times they are geographical monopolies or duopolies.
Club owners and administrators are mere custodians of the tradition of a team, and a balance between looking after yourself and integrity is important.
Integrity is very much lacking among those leading our football.
The lifeblood of a football club and its future is very much dependent on its investment in youth development, as this reduces expenditure on transfer of players and generates revenue for the club.
Football clubs in most countries are usually geographical monopolies or duopolies that have exemptions from anti-trust statutes or competition policies applicable to other industries. Dynamos have always had issues from ownership to player wages, and have failed to unlock opportunities that exist beyond their success on the pitch.
Fan engagement must be used as a catalyst for growth. Like anywhere in the world, Zimbabwe has clubs that are integral to its football history.
Why own a football club?
Ownership of a football club is usually for the following reasons: trophy asset, prestige, passion for the sport, high-value broadcasting rights, opportunity for global brand, market growth, et cetera.
Those that own football clubs seek to either maximise on profits or utility maximisation.
Profit maximisation is about understanding that football is part of the entertainment business that is provided through participation in different tournaments.
Utility maximisation is about achieving success on the field of play.
This is usually the objective of most clubs.
In most countries, football club owners are usually wealthy people who at times can be fans of the club.
They sometimes do not treat the club as a business.
Football has become highly commercialised, thus increasing the cost of running a team.
The level of investment required is way beyond traditional owners.
Big clubs usually attract media attention.
However, smaller clubs can be operated profitably if governed well.
Football clubs also serve communities they are located in economically and contribute to their development.
Fans are valuable to a club and their loyalty is often taken for granted.
Clubs cannot afford to provide sub-standard services to fans, considering the range of entertainment activities that exist in the 21st century.
The business of football should not compromise the sporting and cultural interests of the club, including the interest of fans and local communities.
A paradigm shift is required in the manner in which our football is being run.
Football administrators in Zimbabwe have failed to adapt to the fast-changing managerial, commercial and global developments in the modern game.
Generally, there is need to apply business-oriented practices across the sport sector.
It is important that our football moves away from the culture of football administrators or club owners running club affairs from a car boot or dining table.
*Hastings Kamanga is a UK-based Zimbabwean who is the academy coach at AFC Rusden and Diamonds. He holds a BA Hons in Football Studies and an MA in Leadership and Management of Sport and Physical Activities from the University of Bedfordshire.
