So In All This Chiyangwa Talk Have We Forgotten About Zifa’s Troubles?

All the talk right now is about whether flamboyant Zimbabwean businessman Philip Chiyangwa is fit to run the Zimbabwe Football Association.

After the perceived trauma we went through with Cuthbert Dube there appears to be something of a false dawn when it comes to where the leadership of the country’s football governing body.

Instead of us having conversations over the real state of football in Zimbabwe, the debt, the grassroots development, the corruption, the regional fighting, women’s football, commercial issues and the minor victories, the circus is all about whether we should get Chiyangwa in or not.

Now look here, we find Chiyangwa entertaining with his selfies and that sort of thing. It is fun to watch. But what Zimbabwe football needs much like the world game is a level, sober head. Someone who will get into the trenches and work every day, allowing us to ignore him as the game moves on. Think of Greg Dyke at the English FA in England or Richard Scudamore with the Premier League. No attention is given to them but the institutions they run make sure the essential boxes are ticked and new possibilities arise.

Chiyangwa is more like a Donald Trump, great for shock effect and for media spaces will draw a lot of attention(which means money) but can he be trusted with one of the most important jobs in the country? In effect can football trust him at all? Is he even what the game needs?

This is not to suggest that he cannot do a job, but, does he truly understand the matter at hand or is this just a great PR look? In effect do any of us or are we the sort that have overly simplistic solutions without looking at the problem? Did we hoodwink ourselves into thinking that whoever came after Dube would get it correct?

Mind you in all of this excitement Article 32 in the Zifa constitution states that:

the members of the executive committee shall have already been in active football administration for at least five years, must not have been previously found guilty of a criminal offence under national criminal law and have residency within the territory of Zifa.