The Sunday News
Ngqwele Dube, Sport Correspondent
THE country’s football governing body, Zifa is set to tap into the Diaspora as it seeks to raise funds for national teams’ excursions in the next five months.
The senior national women and men’s sides will be taking part in continental championships in November this year and January 2017 respectively and Zifa needs to raise cash to fund preparations as well as taking part in the events.
Zifa vice-president Omega Sibanda confirmed that they were working on creating Diaspora Committees, which will first be formed in South Africa and United Kingdom before heading to other countries.
It is the first time the football body is reaching out to Zimbabweans living abroad to assist in generating funds for the national teams.
Sibanda said thousands of Zimbabweans abroad still follow the local game and Zifa was aiming at reaching out to them to ensure the national teams get the best preparations ahead of the competitions.
“I think Zimbabwe national football has been raising heads everywhere because of the way the national teams have been performing. The ladies’ side managed to qualify for the Rio Olympics and African Women Cup of Nations while the Warriors’ qualification was spectacular.
“Both sides have real chances of lifting their respective tournaments and as administrators and the nation at large we have to play our role and ensure the conditions for the players are good and there is adequate preparation if we are to expect any meaningful results,” he said.
The Mighty Warriors qualified for the African Women Cup of Nations that runs from 19 November to 3 December in Cameroon while the Warriors are part of the teams who will take part in the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations that takes place in Gabon from 14 January to 5 February.
Sibanda said they would be releasing the names of those who have been appointed adding committees for other countries would be coming soon with Canada being next on board.
He said they are looking at including former players and administrators who have the passion to play a part in the success of the country’s football and they would be releasing the names of the appointees by Tuesday as they are still finalising the list.
Sibanda said the burden was on all Zimbabweans to make sure preparations go according to plan ahead of the two competitions.
“I don’t think the nation should simply leave it to Zifa because we might not have the adequate resources but if we all come together as a nation, I am certain success is guaranteed,” he said.
Fifa development officer for Southern African Ashford Mamelodi recently heaped praise on the country’s national teams saying their performances were impressive defying the struggles that players and technical teams go through to fulfil fixtures and goes against the financial crisis facing Zifa.
Zifa is reeling from a debt of $6 million which they are struggling to liquidate and efforts to disband the organisation and start afresh with a new body, NAFAZ hit a brick wall earlier this year.
The football body has found it difficult to attract sponsors because of the negative image that has been associated with it but a partnership with mobile phone company, NetOne was unveiled during the short-lived NAFAZ era and president, Philip Chiyangwa had indicated Zifa would inherit the package that had been targeted at national teams.
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