Zifa needs rebranding: Sibanda

Sport
NEWLY-ELECTED Zifa vice-president Omega Sibanda says the national association needs rebranding for the organisation to run football smoothly.

NEWLY-ELECTED Zifa vice-president Omega Sibanda says the national association needs rebranding for the organisation to run football smoothly.

THANDIWE MOYO SPORTS CORRESPONDENT

Sibanda, who is stepping down from the Zimbabwe Soccer Player Agents’ Association leadership, beat Highlanders board member Elkanah Dube 38-20 in the elections held in Harare on Saturday.

Cuthbert Dube (pictured) was re-elected as Zifa president beating former chairman Trevor Carelse-Juul 44-14 in a rerun.

Other presidential hopefuls were Harare City chairman Leslie Gwindi (10 votes) and Aces Youth Academy founder Nigel Munyati (zero).

Sibanda, who takes over from Ndumiso Gumede, said there was need for a rebranding for the development of the sport.

“Football is a Zifa brand and it needs a lot of rebranding; rebranding in terms of our relations with the corporate world because of the wrong image that has been portrayed.

“We need to reconstruct the association’s image,” he said.

Sibanda said the media had also played a role in the bad publicity that Zifa has received in the past couple of years.

“We need to reconstruct the image of Zifa especially with the media. There has been a lot that has been said. We need to bring everyone together and create a spirit of oneness,” he said.

Zifa has in the past couple of years seen its image being battered due to a number of issues, the major one being the handling of the Asiagate matchfixing scandal investigations which saw 15 former administrators, journalists and players banned for life.

Also under scrutiny has been the association’s financing with Zifa owing creditors millions of dollars.

The senior men’s national team failed to qualify of the Africa Cup of Nations in 2012 and 2013 and for the World Cup and Zifa has failed to send some youth teams to competitions due to lack of resources.

“There has to be zero tolerance on personal attacks. In football when a player tackles another badly he is given a red card and sent off.

“That is exactly what we need to do. We have to do everything to reconcile as an association.

“We want to make sure that at the end of the day football wins,” he said.

The Bulawayo-based businessman said there was a lot that needed to be done by the association and there was need for it to map out new strategies.

“As a board we have to sit very soon and map out a proper strategic plan,” he said.

Sibanda said the election was free and fair and praised the electoral committee led by retired judge Justice Selo Nare.

“I would like to thank Nare and his team for holding a free and fair election. It was well run and they did a good job,” he said.

Also elected to the board were Chicken Inn secretary Tavengwa Hara, Harare businessman Bernard Gwarada, former Zifa board member (development) John Phiri and former Zifa Eastern Region chairman Fungai Chihuri. Former referee Gladmore Muzambi failed to make it to the board.

The elections were supervised by Fifa Southern Region development officer Ashford Mamelodi.