ZIFA Normalisation Committee and former Mighty Warriors coach Rosemary Mugadza has encouraged former footballers to go to school if they want to lead Zifa.
She said this soon after the Zifa Assembly had ratified a draft constitution into a new constitution at a Zifa annual general meeting (AGM) held at a hotel in Harare yesterday.
The meeting laid the groundwork from which a roadmap that will culminate in the January 18 elections to choose a new Zifa president and his executive committee was put in motion.
Among the clauses in the new document which was endorsed without any amendment was the controversial section 38, which demands that for anyone to stand for the Zifa president and deputy position, they should have at least five O Level subjects.
The section also bars individuals who are 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.
Critics have said the section is discriminatory and appears crafted to disenfranchise some aspiring candidates, particularly former footballers.
However, speaking after the indaba, the former Mighty Warriors captain defended the assembly for including the educational requirement, urging former footballers without basic educational qualifications to “enrol in night school” if they want to lead Zifa.
“I was given a chance by my parents to go to school and they made sure that I have the five O Levels. I’m a Caf instructor, where a certain level of education is required for you to participate in terms of imparting knowledge to the other fellow females,” Mugadza said.
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“It’s the right time for us former footballers to enrol into night schools to get the required academics that we ought to have. Also, if you look at the current situation that we have, the current crop of players, there are scholarships that are offered for them.
“For you to get that scholarship, you need to have a certain academic achievement. I remember when I was the Under-20 coach, Charles Mhlauri (former Warriors coach), called me from his United States of America base looking for players.
“We ended up sending an average player because she was the only one with the qualifications. Right now she is in America. This is what I have been telling our players to make sure that they balance football and education for them to excel in whatever they want to do.”
Article 38.4 of the new constitution reads: “All members of the Executive Committee shall be citizens and residents of Zimbabwe and shall have been continuously resident in Zimbabwe for a period of two years preceding the date of election.”
Article 38.7 says: “The president and the two vice-presidents of the Executive Committee shall have passed a minimum of five O Level subjects (education level) or any equivalent educational level.”
Aspiring candidates who are set to be affected by section 38.4 include England-based Marshal Gore and Ellen Chiwenga, and Richard Mazodze, who is based in the United States.
Businessman Brighton “Panjap” Ushendibaba, who had also shown his desire to contest in the election, falls by the wayside, as he has not reached 40 years.
Other people rumoured to be vying for the Zifa top post include former Zifa vice-president Philemon Machana, former Premier Soccer League (PSL) chairman Twine Phiri, current PSL chairman Farai Jere, Caps United legend Alois Bunjira, journalist Charles Mabika, Zifa Northern Region chairman Martin Kweza and Prophetic Healing and Deliverance Ministries founder and Yadah proprietor Walter Magaya.
More aspiring candidates are now expected to come out in the open after the conclusion of yesterday’s AGM.
