Zifa normalisation committee chairperson Lincoln Mutasa summed it all up when he told reporters on Monday that we are in the silly season.
It's just about two months before the elections to choose the new Zifa executive committee. The elections will bring to a close the chaos that affected the national game which saw the country being suspended by Fifa in February 2022.
The soccer governing body lifted the suspension in July last year and appointed a normalisation committee led by Mutasa. Other members of the committee are Sikhumbuzo Ndebele, Rosemary Mugadza and Nyasha Tashinga Sanyamandwe.
We are yet to know who will contest for the positions, but we have no less than five candidates who have been running around in bid to entice the councillors into their corner for the top job of Zifa president.
Twine Phiri, Farai Jere, Martin Kweza, Walter Magaya, Marshal Gore, Temba Mliswa, Gilbert Muponda and Nqobile Magwizi are all said to be interested in running Zimbabwean football.
Some will likely fall by the wayside in the vetting process. We have already seen some hopefuls quietly withdrawing after the requirement that prospective office bearers must have a minimum of five Ordinary Levels and football administration experience was announced.
The Zifa normalisation committee, whose members will be returning officers for this poll, have promised a credible election.
"We promise that this is going to be a free, fair and credible election. Following the opening of the nomination we intend to receive them until December 11 and we will do the vetting then on December 23 we will announce the list of candidates that will contest the elections. We will announce the list of candidates that would have passed the eligibility test," said Sanyamandwe, a member of the normalisation committee.
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Considering where we are coming from, having endured a Fifa ban, we pray that we have a credible, drama-free election that will be acceptable to everyone.
This week we saw one individual launching a lawsuit against Martin Kweza, the Northern Region Division One Soccer League chairperson.
Zifa said it was not bothered by such shenanigans and was only focused on a roadmap to a credible poll.
We will discover on December 23 the candidates who would have passed the eligibility test.
All hope is that the electoral committee will be bold enough in discharging its duties to include only those people who meet the requirements to participate in the election.
We hope that the process will be fair to all parties involved so that Zifa returns to normal business. In the past we have had cases of vote buying and intimidation.
We hope the councillors will vote wisely and not allow themselves to opt for the highest bidder. Mutasa said recently that vote-buying had been prevalent and a blight on previous elections, a practice they hoped to curtail in the run-up to next year’s polls.
The Zifa councillors, he said, must vote with their hearts, not stomachs. Zifa needs someone with both experience and expertise at the top to lead the association.
Councillors will also vote for two vice-presidents and six board members. We hope these elections will usher in a winning team to take the game in the country forward.
The normalisation committee must lay the groundwork for credible elections now.
