×
NewsDay

AMH is an independent media house free from political ties or outside influence. We have four newspapers: The Zimbabwe Independent, a business weekly published every Friday, The Standard, a weekly published every Sunday, and Southern and NewsDay, our daily newspapers. Each has an online edition.

Follow Nigerian way, then what?

Opinion & Analysis
NOW that the Nigerian Football Federation office bearers are back in office and the Fifa suspension is lifted, what next for those who have been advocating for the banning of the Zifa Board?

NOW that the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) office bearers are back in office and the Fifa suspension is lifted, what next for those who have been advocating for the banning of the Zifa Board?

NewsDay Editorial

The chorus has been growing in the last few weeks, but thankfully, Minister of Sport Andrew Langa has ignored those who have taken a personal hatred of the current Zifa Board to levels of almost insanity.

Nigeria will now be able to send a team to the Under-20 Women’s World Cup in Canada starting on August 5, while their CAF Under-17 Championship qualifier against Rwanda that had been set for this past weekend has been shifted to July 27.

The lifting of the suspension means the Super Eagles will also be able to defend their Africa Cup of Nations title when qualifying matches start in September.

Basically, Fifa rules protect its members from government interference, and a suspension bars teams and officials from taking part in international matches and meetings, although many national teams, particularly from Africa, are funded by their governments.

What the proponents of Zimbabwe’s government interference wanted was a chance to thrive on anarchy and take us back to the dark days of disorder, chaos and match-fixing.

These people will not rest until they are back in the game, not for the benefit of the game, but for their own selfish needs. Football is now an industry and employs thousands of people and there are equally thousands who benefit downstream – immediate families and extended families – in various ways.

This is the livelihood that can be taken away when government interferes. That we won’t be playing international football is neither here nor there; we need to be active even in Cosafa, Under 17, Under 20 and Olympic qualifiers.

Zimbabwe, as a matter of fact was never banned by the Confederation of African Football [Caf] from junior tournaments which is why the Under 20 side participated in the Cosafa Cup last year in Lesotho and will participate again in the Region Five games in Bulawayo in December.

Dynamos rose to its current status – they are Zimbabwean champions – by literally playing in the Caf Champions League every year and cannot be seen to be dancing in the dusty and bumpy pitches of Ascot, Trojan and Gibbo when they can play with the best in Africa.

We have seen Mamelodi Sundowns come into the country twice in the last two years. Will they visit again if we are banned?

We have never doubted that Zifa, since the Warriors’ last appearance in the Afcon 2006 finals, has failed. What we need is an overhaul of our football development structures across the board that will give birth to proper talent with correct ages.

We need more junior football tournaments, at area zones, district and provincial levels to identify this talent.

We have the Copa Coca-Cola – a very noble idea, but it is a fact that it is littered with cheats, some who can’t even make the Under 23 squad, yet it is an Under 16 tournament. We need better solutions to arrest this lack of development and a ban is certainly not one of them.