Who is fooling who?

IT was good to hear Zifa spokesperson, Xolisani Gwesela, telling the nation that Zifa was pressing ahead with reforms to bring back normalcy to Zimbabwean football.

Gwesela — we can assume — is the best person to tell us where Zifa needs cleansing as he has been there at the association’s headquarters - from the problematic days of Cuthbert Dube to the reign of Felton Kamambo via the days of Phillip Chiyangwa.

We can further assume that Gwesela, from his long association with countless Zifa leaderships, knows exactly where the abnormality in Zifa is and where it has always been, and where exactly needs to be corrected.

We cannot fault Gwesela for the problems long associated with Zifa during and after Dube, Chiyangwa and Kamambo, because he has just been an employee or a ‘runner’ in street terms.

The football administrator - it is not in question - surely knows his way around the corridors of the power of Zimbabwean football as he has served as the Zifa spokesperson, a member of the Zifa Grounds Committee, Club Licensing, and acting CEO.

No employee has wielded so much power in Zimbabwean football as has Gwesela. Even the late great football administrator Rita Musekiwa or even Lazarus Mhurushomana himself would sit back and take notice.

Even Kennedy Ndebele at the Premier Soccer League or Chris Sibanda, the founder of the PSL, will look back in admiration at the manner in which Gwesela has held so many different portfolios at the football association.

Gwesela has to be praised for managing to stay for long at the

NASA faced a massive problem, as we reflected in a previous article, when the two engines of Apollo 13 exploded in 1970, requiring them to get the lunar craft back to earth safely with the three astronauts alive.

They managed to solve the problem, mercifully and thankfully. However, while they were to be congratulated hugely for that astonishing achievement, they were not immune to further problems and sixteen years later the space shuttle Challenger exploded just over one minute after its launch resulting in the deaths of all seven crew members.

Previously, we likened the Apollo 13 situation to the situation we face regarding sport in our schools – namely, we have a problem.

However, just like NASA after Apollo 13, even if we can resolve the previously discussed problems, we still have further problems with sport in our schools.

The first problem is there are few teachers who can coach sport. Teachers nowadays have not played sports themselves, as youngsters or adults, let alone coached sports, though their job description requires (or should require) them to coach sport.

Schools do not have the time or football headquarters where the likes of Henrietta Rushwaya and Jonathan Mashingaidze failed to survive, where even the greyhaired Joseph Kaundura found it too hot and left.

Gwesela was this week straight to the point telling the nation that Zimbabwean football’s cleansing had begun and for that matter starting with the referees.

Gwesela was honest enough to say the Zifa board had decided to start with refereeing because of the many complaints that have been leveled against that section of Zimbabwean football.

“We started with referees because there have been so many complaints about lack of professionalism and declining standards which were a threat to the game. We are also working on reforms on coaches, administration and development, Gwesela was quoted as saying.

What, however, is clear is that Gwesela and his brothers and sisters at the Zifa board are trying to divert attention from the bigger problem facing Zimbabwean football to the referees because Fifa banned Obert Zhoya.

Nobody disputes that there is a problem with our referees but starting with that small section of Zimbabwean football and forgetting the root cause of the crisis is getting it all wrong.

It should be noted that the forthcoming Zifa board will obviously have a look at the referees and coaches issue thereby rendering the current exercise useless.

The reason why Zimbabwean football chased Felton Kamambo was that the problem was at the centre of administration and that is where the cleansing of Zimbabwean football should begin - The Zifa Assembly and the Zifa board. finances (or perhaps inclination) to train their teachers to coach sports, thinking that there are other more important things to consider.

Schools, therefore, try to get around the problem of teachers not being able (or willing) to coach team sports by bringing in outside coaches – though it should be stated that they should still be requiring teachers to be responsible for the team’s behaviour and attendance, while learning from the outside specialised coach during the practices and matches.

However, this raises two further problems, regarding outside coaches: firstly, it costs money and secondly, the coaches are not trained, this in turn being seen in three areas: they are not trained to work with youngsters

Why has Zimbabwean football all of a sudden forgotten that the term of the all-powerful Zifa Assembly has expired?

Why has Zimbabwean football forgotten that elections should be held at Zifa to replace - first the Zifa Assembly and then the Felton Kamambo board?

Why was there all that noise about Kamambo if his position was not all that important to the extent that the case of his successor is not being treated as a matter of urgency?

The ideal situation would have been to put in office a new Zifa Assembly, which would then elect (remember teachers take years to be trained to teach youngsters); secondly, many of them are not trained even as coaches (simply being good players); and thirdly, most of them have no concept of the purpose of doing sport at school (learning more than winning); the coaches are purely interested in results, to boost their reputation.

They will go to any length to achieve that, often in contradiction of the school’s values.

A similar problem exists with the officials required for sporting fixtures (which are an essential part of the learning process).

Nowadays, neutral referees and umpires need to be paid (previously they would do it for free but not now, as now many are unemployed). a new Zifa board and that board would then sort out the issue of referees, coaches, and open negotiations with Fifa.

The question is: Is there someone or people who are trying to hang on to their current positions by taking advantage of situations which have availed themselves and are resisting following the proven path?

Who exactly is trying to fool who?

For your comments, views, and suggestions mkariati@ gmail.com or WhatsApp on 0773 266 779.

This means that many schools find it hard to provide quality unbiased referees and umpires and that can affect the fixture’s purpose.

Furthermore, the level of refereeing or umpiring is sometimes very poor and unprofessional – the official turns up in inappropriate gear (jeans and shoes) then proceeds to stand in the centre circle without keeping up with play.

However, in fairness, there is very little incentive for people to volunteer to serve as a match official when they will be abused by ignorant spectators on the sidelines who are not prepared to train or take qualifications to be an official. There is a problem!

Then we face parents who often try to interfere and have influence in the selection of teams, in particular to ensure their child or their friend’s child is selected.

Parents often volunteer to coach teams, which is commendable, but only if their child is playing in that team, so the motive is personal.

Furthermore, they, like the above-mentioned coaches, are not trained in handling children.

It is also often found that parents give their child advice which is contrary to the direction given by the coach, which confuses the child.

Parents do not understand the lessons that need to be learned by children through sport, nor the purpose of sport at school. That is another major problem.

When it comes to schools, the win-at-all-costs mentality tempts schools to cheat, by using over-age players or by using players who are not registered at the school or who do not study at the school.

Not only is that inappropriate and unfair to the other schools but it is also unfair to those children who are registered at the school who are now deprived of the opportunity, privilege and thrill of representing their own school. That again is a problem.

We need to find solutions to these problems before school sport explodes. That is our challenge.

Tim Middleton is a former international hockey player and headmaster, currently serving as the Executive Director of the Association of Trust Schools Email: co.zw