THE Zifa will hold its annual general meeting on October 18 which, among other things, should put in motion the holding of Zifa board elections following months under the stewardship of a normalisation committee.
A draft constitution has already been put in place ahead of the establishment of a new constitution.
This publication is in possession of the draft constitution and has picked a number of contentious clauses, not least, article 38, which deals with the composition of the Zifa board.
The section proposes, among other things, to bar individuals who have not continuously resided in the country in the past two years to contest for the presidency and vice-president position.
The same section also seeks to block people without at least five Ordinary Level passes from contesting for the two top posts.
Article 38.4 of the draft document reads: “All members of the executive committee shall be citizens and residence of Zimbabwe and shall have been continuously resident in Zimbabwe for a period of 2 (two) years preceding the date of election.”
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38.7 says” “The president and the two vice-presidents of the executive committee shall have passed a minimum of five O-Levels subjects (Education level) or any equivalent educational level.”
The two clauses have already triggered a furore, with former footballers in particular arguing that the issue of formal education has been put in place to bar ex-footballers from holding key posts in the administration of the game.
While it is good to have former footballers in leadership positions, we must also point out the need to have the right people in important positions.
Having played the game even at the highest level does not necessarily make one a good football administrator.
Why should players feel that the clause is meant to bar them yet we have got dozens of ex-players who possess five O Levels?
We have got many that are degreed and can throw their hats into the ring and contest.
The Zifa president and vice-president posts are key positions that need someone to have basic education.
Education is important for such key positions and that’s why even a former Warriors captain cannot coach the national team if they do not hold a Caf A coaching certificate.
Premier League coaches are required to have had coaching certificates never mind what level of football they played.
If players want to hold key administration positions, they need to prepare themselves in time.
This is why some players go for coaching certificates during their playing days.
Playing football alone cannot be a qualification.
That is why we have people that never played football in proper structures going to school and becoming better coaches than those that played at the highest level.
However, having said that, there are other courses that should be considered which can be taken by people that do not necessarily have five O Levels.
The clause of having been resident in Zimbabwe for the last two years is also key.
We do not need people that are looking for employment at Zifa.
We need dedicated board members who have the full grasp and understanding of the game.
Not those that are watching local events via social media.
Imagine Zifa normalisation committee chairperson Lincoln Mutasa being asked in Parliament when last he had watched a Premier League match and him responding that he had never been to one in the 12 months to July this year.
His excuse? He would watch the games on television.
Grilled further about not attending matches, he responded: “Is the season over yet?”
Surely, we cannot have lamp post tortoises, lest we topple them over to out their owners.