THE Sports and Recreation Commission (SRC) and Zifa have moved to curb the possibility of future friction by signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) which defines their roles.
Squabbles between the two led to the suspension of Zimbabwe from international football for two years, which was only lifted last year.
The country is looking to start from a clean page with a normalisation committee steering football towards the establishment of a new Zifa constitution, which will lead to election of a substantive board.
SRC and the normalisation committee yesterday signed the MoU, which will help manage the relationship between the two parties, with both parties making their own contributions.
The MoU was signed by SRC chairman Gerald Mlotshwa and Zifa normalisation committee (NC) chair Lincoln Mutasa in Harare yesterday.
“The background of why we are here is well documented. Fifa suspended Zifa and then they lifted the ban last year and there were conditions that were set in lifting the suspension,” Mlotshwa told the media at the signing ceremony.
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“There was a stipulation by Fifa that the NC and SRC needed to sign a MoU regarding the management of their relationship going forward.
“That was because Fifa appreciated the issues that had been raised by the SRC and (there was need) to find a common ground between the SRC and Zifa as to how they will collaborate going forward.”
He added that they took their time to give the NC ample time to appreciate their task and establish what they wanted.
Zifa demanded that the SRC plays its key role in lobbying for government financial support.
“We need to allow the NC to do its work and understand the issues that need to be addressed. As we move towards the home run of the NC, this has become the appropriate time to sign the agreement.
“The MoU addresses several important issues relating to the administration of football and it deals with sexual harassment. Those two policy issues will be important items for the SRC,” Mlotshwa said.
“From the NC side, their issue was funding. The SRC will ensure as far as possible that Zifa programmes are funded from the national Treasury.
Our commitment is to lobby for those funds to go into our national sport. Fifa has played a large role in the contents of this MoU. This is endorsed by Fifa, that’s how important this document is. It will define the relationship between Zifa and the SRC going forward.”
The SRC-Zifa clash saw the Felton Kamambo-led board getting booted out, which, in turn, triggered a ban by Fifa, which was lifted last year.
The SRC was adamant that while Fifa does not condone government control, Zifa had to be accountable to the SRC and the laws of the country.
Meanwhile, Zifa has stepped closer to the holding of fresh elections as the establishment of a new constitution nears completion.
The NC has been considering contributions by Zifa members over the amending of statutes and they will meet with Fifa over the process ahead of the annual general meeting.
“We are operating on the 2013 constitution. As a result of stakeholder engagements and those done by the SRC, which they shared with us, we amalgamated all these documents. From Fifa’s point of view, they want an alignment of the constitutions,” Mutasa told the media.
“We put together a draft of issues the members raised. That draft was circulated to the members who gave us feedback.”
He added that they were moving towards being compliant and to hold elections, which is one of their main mandates.
“We are addressing issues to make sure that we are compliant to have the elections. We are working hand in hand with Fifa to try and make sure we have an elected board to run the game,” Mutasa said.
“In the coming days, we are going to meet Fifa and our members, who will give feedback on what we should do. After that, we will have an AGM [annual general meeting] and ratify the documents. Thereafter, we can say we are ready to have the elections.”