Today marks exactly one year since the ZIFA Restructuring Committee was appointed as the nation sought answers to the bigger problems haunting Zimbabwean football.
The committee was put in place by the Sports and Recreation Commission last year as part of the strategic roadmap towards addressing the issues that have affected football management and administration in Zimbabwe.
Corruption and mismanagement had become endemic and it quite unfortunate, the game is at its all-time low following the suspension by FIFA in April.
This has been the most painful period for Zimbabwean football since Independence.
The senior national team could not take part in qualifiers for the 2023 AFCON and CHAN qualifiers following the FIFA suspension. The senior women's team and the age-group sides were affected as well while the local clubs were not spared, as well.
But what is happening on the ground now to ensure that when the FIFA ban is eventually lifted, Zimbabwe will be found ready for international football?
If the national teams are incorporated into the regional and international tournaments, how smooth will be the reintegration?
Will Zimbabwe be able to host international matches on home soil? The last time, CAF had banned all the local stadiums because they did not meet the minimum required standards.
Sometimes the slow pace with which the reform processes are moving is confusing. The Kenya Football Federation, who were almost in the same predicament as ZIFA this year, have since been reinstated by FIFA after they expedited the football reform processes.
We hope and trust that the leadership at ZIFA and the Sports Commission have the situation in control.
The nation has missed out on international games and opportunities for technical development under the auspices of FIFA in the last eight months. All this should not be in vain.
The ZIFA Restructuring Committee, we presume, has been busy on their mandate. We also trust they have the future of the game in mind, as well as the long term plans for World Cup qualification, which is the ultimate goal of us playing this game.
The committee's mandate is expected to run until the end of this month and beginning January we should be seeing the direction the game will be taking.
The talent is abundant, but the administration part has been the major hindrance. There is no infrastructure in place and the financial resources are often scarce.
Lack of vision and probably the absence of required expertise has made the game to suffer. For over 10 years, Zimbabwe ZIFA and PSL have been unable to implement the FIFA/CAF Club Licensing system which aims at promoting and improving the quality and the level of all football aspects across the globe.
We can also learn from our brothers from the continent who have been part of the 2022 World Cup which ends tomorrow.
Morocco have been fighting stereotypes at the global football stage and they reached the semifinals of the tournament for the first time after beating the likes of Spain, Belgium and Portugal, who had one of the greatest players Cristiano Ronaldo.
But how are they doing it? Ghana for instance. The West Africans have qualified for four FIFA World Cup tournaments in 2006, 2010, 2014 and 2022.
The GFA are always successful with their strategic plans and always have a vision of helping the game to achieve new heights in the medium and long term.
Apart from sound administration, financial prudence and infrastructure, they also prioritise grassroots development. Zimbabwe have a fondness of recycling old players because of lack of development blueprint.
Of course, Zimbabwe should forget about the 2023 CHAN tournament to be held in Algeria in February and the AFCON set for Ivory Coast later in June.
But the 2026 World Cup should be of great interest. We may say Zimbabwe have never qualified for the global football showpiece but in football anything is possible.
It is also set to become a little bit easier to qualifier after FIFA increased the slots for Africa from five to nine for the 2026 World Cup to be jointly hosed by USA, Mexico and Canada.
FIFA will also launch a 32-team Club World Cup tournament that is set to start in 2025. FIFA president Gianni Infantino added that there will also be a similar set up for a Women's Club World Cup.
All these are opportunities for exposure for our players.
The good thing is the ZIFA Restructuring Committee is now in the final stages of their mandate and could be handing over their recommendations to the Sports Commission by next week.
The Restructuring Committee have delivered on the first part of their mandate by requesting a forensic audit into the ZIFA books.
The Restructuring Committee's report is as crucial to the reforms as the forensic audit report that was produced by an independent audit firm last month.
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The country's football governing body was left with a lot of soul-searching after a forensic audit carried by an independent auditor unearthed massive financial irregularities at 53 Livingstone Avenue.
The audit by BDO Zimbabwe revealed that ZIFA could have been prejudiced of over US$600 000 and over ZW$73 million in local currency during Felton Kamambo's tenure. The audit covered the period between December 1, 2018 and November 30, 2021.
The forensic audit was one of the key undertakings by the Sports and Recreation Commission, through the ZIFA Restructuring Committee, to eliminate malfeasance and corruption in the administration of local football.
It was appointed in line with the provisions of Section 21, as well as 19(b) and 20 (c) of the SRC Act to tackle issues of strategic nature in the search for solutions in Zimbabwe's perennial football administration problems and is not assuming the roles of the ZIFA board that was recently reinstated by both Sports Commission.
The board had been suspended on allegations which included lack of transparency with public funds, maladministration, bribery, vote-buying during election time and the sexual harassment of female referees.
The Sports Commission and all the stakeholders should ensure that Zimbabwean football bounces back stronger next year. And now is the time to make sure that all the foundations are put in place.
