Govt challenges ZIFA, PSL to be professional

FOOTBALL leadership at ZIFA and Premier Soccer League have been challenged to embrace the basic tenets of corporate governance in order to foster success and the development of the game in the country.

The game is currently in the doldrums following years of mismanagement which eventually led to the suspension of ZIFA from international football by FIFA earlier this year.

The acting permanent secretary in the Ministry of Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation, Benson Dube said football administrators should aim to maintain the game’s status as the number one sport in the country.

He said Government was committed to supporting the football leadership to achieve this goal, in pursuance of the National Development Strategy 1 objectives.

“My Ministry in collaboration with the Sports and Recreation Commission and ZIFA is working very hard in making sure that football remains the number one sport of our lovely nation. There are initiatives being undertaken to improve the development of football in our country.

“While we are cognisant of the difficult economic environment we are living in, as Government we are, and we will do our best to ensure that the sports sector remains visible and vibrant,” said Dube.

Dube also said ZIFA should be serious about embracing FIFA and CAF Club Licensing, which has taken over a decade to be appreciated in Zimbabwe when many countries across the world were now reaping the benefits.

The global objectives of the Club Licensing procedure were defined by FIFA during its Congress which was held in Munich in 2006.

The FIFA Executive Committee adopted the FIFA Club Licensing Regulations on October 29, 2007 and it came into force on January 1, 2008.

The CAF Club Licensing Regulations were approved in January 2012, and came into force effective March 1, 2012.

The club licensing process assists clubs to improve their economic and financial capability as well as increasing their transparency and credibility in terms of administration.

“For our football to be a force to reckon with, its visibility and vibrancy ought to be characterised by corporate governance that is compared to none.

“This can only be achieved if football clubs have legally binding statutes and clear ownership models. It is therefore very important for ZIFA and PSL to come up with written Club Licensing regulations in order to professionalise football clubs,” said Dube.

Dube said clubs should desist from hiring unqualified personnel to run their offices and in technical positions. Grassroots development, which has been dumped by both PSL and ZIFA in recent years, is also worrying the Government.

“Clubs must be properly structured with clear pathways that lead to development of football. The PSL clubs must have offices manned by qualified personnel - both in the administration and on the technical personnel – and these must be people of integrity and high prestige.

“It is the role of the PSL clubs to develop, identify and nurture talent for the national teams. PSL clubs must provide leadership in the development of both men and women’s football.

“We encourage ZIFA and PSL to come up with vibrant youth development programs from grassroots level.

“We urge ZIFA and PSL to engage tertiary institutions to come up with specified capacity building programmes for sports administration. Some of our institutions now offer these programmes.

“I urge sports leaders to enroll with these institutions to be fully capacitated in order to deliver on the expected outcomes in their quest for excellency.”

Dube also encouraged stakeholders to seriously consider investing in football infrastructure. The country is facing a crisis of proportions as most of the local stadiums have been condemned as unfit to host professional football games.

In fact, CAF have banned all the local facilities, including the National Sports Stadium, from hosting international matches until they get a facelift. Rufaro and Gwanzura have been out of use for the domestic games for some years now.

“The Government of Zimbabwe has set aside funds for the renovation of all sporting facilities in the country to conform to international standards,” said Dube.

“The state of our infrastructure is a cause for concern. We urge stadium owners and other stakeholders to come on board and ensure that we have well-maintained and modest sporting facilities that meet Club Licensing requirements in the key areas of pitch quality, safety and security of players, officials and spectators.

“We understand the importance of sporting facilities to the communities and athletes. Authorities responsible for the maintenance and upgrading of these sporting facilities must always have stand-alone budgets meant for these infrastructure.

“I therefore urge city fathers in different local authorities to come up with a robust paradigm shift when it comes to the maintenance of these facilities.

“They must not let these stadiums deteriorate but have to move with the modern trends and keep our stadiums always at internationally recognised standards,” said Dube.