BY FORTUNE MBELE THE Zifa Restructuring Committee (ZRC) says it will soon wrap up stakeholders consultations and will next month make preliminary recommendations on football governance in the country before making the final endorsements at the end of the year when its mandate comes to an end.
Committee chairperson Blessing Rugara yesterday confirmed the position, saying the committee of experts would present the initial report of the recommendations to the Sport and Recreation Commission (SRC).
Without going into much detail, Rugara said the recommendations would be premised on football governance issues.
“We have a year-long mandate and we will have our recommendations made available at the end of the year for people to read. In the interim, we will have preliminary recommendations which will be issued to the SRC in July. The recommendations will be focused on football governance issues,” Rugara said.
The SRC last week lifted the suspension of three Zifa board members Farai Jere, Barbara Chikosi and Sugar Chagonda, while endorsing the return of Gift Banda, who is now the national football governing body’s acting president as Felton Kamambo’s suspension remains in force.
Other board members who remain suspended are Philemon Machana and Bryton Malandule.
Banda was re-instated by the Zifa extra-ordinary meeting in April, which also shut the door on Kamambo, Machana and Malandule whose appeal against their suspension by the SRC last year was thrown out by the Administrative Court.
But the trio’s suspension and that of chief executive officer Joseph Mamutse drew the wrath of Fifa, who in turn banned Zimbabwe from international football.
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Mamutse’s suspension was lifted, but he has stood with his suspended bosses and refused to return to work.
Banda last week said they were engaging Fifa on Zifa’s suspension.
The ZRC will be in Bulawayo today as part of its national stakeholder consultative forums, which Rugara also confirmed.
They will meet football stakeholders in the City of Kings and Queens, which will also include four topflight football clubs, Highlanders, Chicken Inn, Bulawayo Chiefs and Bulawayo City.
“We will be in Bulawayo tomorrow and the purpose of our visit is the continuation of our nationwide engagement with football stakeholders to hear what people think about the state of our football and to find out about the problems bedevilling our football and find solutions to improve our national football,” Rugara said.
“We are talking to football stakeholders that include provincial bodies, former players and administrators and we will also talk to football clubs, Highlanders, Chicken Inn, Bulwayo City and Bulawayo Chiefs.”
Rugara said the committee was at its final stages of its mandate after other consultative meetings were held in April and May in Harare.
“The ZRC is at the final stages of its fact-finding mission. The next phase will be to review best practices and proffer applicable recommendations,” he said.
“Notwithstanding, the committee is happy with the progress to date and assures the nation that it will successfully conduct its mandate including availing a comprehensive document of its findings and recommendations from all the activities undertaken by December 2022.”
The committee was appointed last December following the Zifa board suspension a month earlier.
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