The Zifa election race has gathered pace.
Everything is now taking shape with at least nine candidates throwing their names in the hat for the post of president.
We have six women vying for the post of vice-president, which is reserved for a female.
Five men have so far been nominated for the post of vice president.
There is oversubscription for the six board member seats with 30 candidates having expressed interest.
This will be one of the most interesting Zifa elections.
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On December 23 we will know who would have gone through the vetting process successfully.
It will not be a walk in the park for some of the candidates.
While the list makes interesting reading, it is also disappointing given that some characters that have held office at Zifa and were part of the problems that we had before also made it.
Granted, everyone has a right to put in their name if they qualify, but considering the problems we have had in the past, it is time to have fresh blood.
We are not advocating for novices of course, we need people with experience and expertise in these leadership positions.
But we cannot afford to keep on recycling old faces.
What new ideas are they bringing this time after past struggles if not total failure.
Some of the people on the list have been part of the problems that have bedevilled our game over the past decades.
We implore the councillors to think about the future of the game and bring in people with the right mindset and fresh ideas. They should not think with their stomachs as had become the norm in the past.
Some people are looking to move from one position to another in the Zifa board.
Come January 25 we hope the councillors will do the right thing and get the right mix for the Zifa board.
The biggest winner in setting up a competent Zifa board is football.
Fans have endured years of pain following the suspension of Zimbabwe by Fifa in 2022.
The suspension was lifted last year with the world soccer governing body installing a normalisation committee chaired by businessman and sports administrator Lincoln Mutasa to kick-start reforms to bring Zifa to a better keel.
The normalisation committee has moved mountains, coming up with a new Zifa constitution that prescribed that candidates vying for the the president and vice-president positions must have at least five ordinary levels.
The constitution also bars those below the age of 40 and those that have not continuously resided in the country in the past two years to contest for the presidency and vice-president’s position.
All these measures are designed to create a new Zifa that oozes with credibility to attract the corporate world to football.
We cannot afford another term riddled with troubles.
Zifa needs a fresh start with the right leaders in charge, not fly-by-night individuals bent on milking the football institution.
The beautiful game is at stake.