The Sunday News
When Zifa councillors, led by vice-president Omega Sibanda, his fellow councillors Benard Gwarada and Mirriam Sibanda made a move on ousting then president Cuthbert Dube we thought that was an uncalculated move because at the time we knew Dube to be personally sponsoring our national teams.
It seems these guys knew what they were doing. For me the question was “Where to Zimbabwe football?”
Elections were to be conducted: honestly for me when Philip Chiyangwa threw in his name, most of my colleagues and myself in the Southern region and indeed most of Zimbabwe doubted the man. That left Omega exposed as he was Chiyangwa’s running mate, little did we know, as Chiyangwa went on to win at Zifa, he won at Cosafa, he is now at Caf having led the campaign for the eventual winner. What is to stop him from getting to Fifa? You really can’t guess this guy’s next move!
I have personally believed it is great for football people, former football players to be involved in the running of football but I fully appreciate that there are offices and duties that will be beyond most, mainly because for ages football players were proud to proclaim isikolo angisifuni, inyawo zami zizangidlisa or . . . inini zvangu chikoro handidi . . . makumbo angu ndo anotaura (my legs will do the business). Well it would be hard for the same guy saying this to sit in a board meeting discussing serious issues (not about the said player for that matter) for hours on end, most cannot cope.
A businessman taking charge? Well, PC or Captain Phidza as some call him, has shown he has the guile and push to move our football to the next level. Playing a big role in bringing change to Caf should be seen by all travelled and enlightened Zimbabweans as an opportunity to take our football to the next level. A level where the administrator in an obscure office out in Inyathi is a Caf/ Fifa-trained person. A level where a coach coaching youngsters deep down in Mwenezi is a Caf A licence holder. A level where a player in his last year of his professional years holds his Caf A and is just waiting to do his Pro Licence.
Je suis prof de français langue étrangere, j’ ai vecu en France, j’ ai vu comment la francophonie fonctionne au niveau foot.
Nous les anglophone somt vraiement derriere! (I am a trained teacher of French, I lived in France. I saw how the French world works as far as football is concerned. We the Anglophones especially of our region are truly backwards. Systems are put up in the French language. The best instructors speak French or Arabic. Courses are easily accessible in their region and France sometimes helps bring hordes of coaches for training in France under Caf Fifa co-ordination.
The victory PC and his team of Councillors and his VP Oms have achieved should be embraced and used to develop and improve our football standards in Zimbabwe and in the whole region. The balance of power and opportunities in African football has over the years favoured the North, West and East African countries. The Issah Hayatou-led institution at Caf, naturally also favoured French speaking Africa. Thank you to PC, that is now history.
It is then important and paramount that we as coaches take strides in getting involved in Caf corridors to benefit from the liberation effort produced by none other than our own Dr Philip Chiyangwa.
How can it be possible that we have less than five Caf instructors, less than 200 A licence coaches and no viable centers of Excellence managed by Qualified Center of Excellence Managers? We need to stand up and demand that all Fifa programmes on Technical, Tactical, Psychological, Physical, Social and Medical development are followed through. We are not far from Fifa. If the president of Fifa himself can come to Zimbabwe, why can’t Caf and Fifa instructors come too? We need to go knocking on those corridors.
I challenge people to look at the mumber of Caf A Licence holders in countries like Egypt, Cameroon and Tunisia? Why would they have so much and us so little? The resolution after the PC led revolution is GO GET IT ZIMBABWE FOOTBALL.
I write as a Zimbabwean football coach who was trained in Zimbabwe to attain my French and Physical Education teacher qualification, in France to attain a Diploma in the teaching of the French language, as a qualified football coaching instructor attained at Hennef in Germany, as a holder of the Uefa B coaching badge attained over eight months in the United Kingdom and a holder of the Advanced Soccer Coaching Certificate from Zimbabwe.
I have coached in Zimbabwe at Premier league level at teams such as Zimbabwe Saints, Highlanders FC and Tsholotsho FC. In the premier league of Botswana I have coached Gaborone United FC and I am currently Head Coach at Mochudi center Chiefs. It is because of lack of instructors that a coach like myself should be in the trenches rather than imparting knowledge to our people so they can go out and improve the standards in our country.
May I conclude by asking Dr PC to take his fight to the end. Zimbabwe will one day open its eyes and appreciate his efforts in aligning Southern African football with that of other corners of Africa and the world at large.
