eBusiness Weekly
Chipo Sabeta
New ZIFA president Felton Kamambo, is optimistic that local football will be the biggest winner during his four-year reign.Kamambo, a strategist par excellence given the way he prosecuted his campaign, beat Phillip Chiyangwa 35-24, to end the flamboyant businessman’s three-year reign.
Chiyangwa had taken over from Cuthbert Dube in December 2015.
But Kamambo’s widely unexpected victory, shook the football fraternity and the new ZIFA boss immediately declared that the “people have spoken and I believe football will be the final winner”.
“Football has won. It’s not about me, but the game has scored more. The councillors have spoken. I am not going to celebrate beating Chiyangwa, that is immature,” said Kamambo.
“All I know is that football will be the winner. It’s not Kamambo that has won, but we have won as Zimbabwe, Africa and the world at large.
“We have just won a match and I believe we will win more as time goes on. I won’t dwell much in creating divisions, fighting the former president or use my power to cause chaos in the game.
“I just want a united front and I believe we have the potential to show our exploits internationally.”
Little is known about Kamambo in terms of his playing and soccer administration career.
However, Kamambo insists his experience as a player and administrator would be invaluable to the association.
Kamambo said besides serving as a Zifa board member from 2015 before he quit his post in March this year, has been heavily involved in football despite being ignored by the media.
“It’s unfortunate that we want heroes of the media, but I don’t fancy the back pages. It’s football and a matter of doing the right things. I have played football for various clubs.
“I am a former player for Mhangura Football Club. I also served as the ZIFA central region chairman.
“I am not in this position by fluke. I don’t have to be popular to do the right thing for the game. I want to be popular for the changes I am going to implement,” said the new ZIFA boss who is a senior manager at the Grain Marketing Board (GMB).
In the build-up to the election, the ZIFA brand took a battering, particularly, when Kamambo was controversially banned from all football activities for three years by Chiyangwa.
New ZIFA vice-president Gift Banda was also disqualified at some point.
It eventually took the intervention of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association or International Federation of Association Football (FIFA).
Kamambo says the current administration must polish the tarnished image of the ZIFA brand.
He believes that can be achieved through clean and transparent governance.
“I hope that things will settle down in Zimbabwean football (now that these elections are over), focus on its future,” Kamambo said.
“The period from 2019 to 2023 is going to be crucial. We want to look at how we can strengthen women’s football in the country. It has been a neglected part of the game considering how women’s game is fast rising.
“That is a fundamental shift in the role of women in football.
“We want to strengthen that. In addition, the council must hold elected officials accountable.
“The council members, the board, are basically drivers of the ZIFA bus. It’s their job to ensure that our “bus” doesn’t get into a ditch but take Zimbabwean football to the next level.
The key to achieving that is holding everyone in that committee accountable to ensure that they diligently do their job.
Kamambo and Banda have also pledged to work with all stakeholders to revive soccer in Zimbabwe, preaching unity and support.
He is also eager to reconcile with those who lost at the 2018 elections.
On Tuesday, Kamambo paid a courtesy call on his predecessor, Chiyangwa, as he commences extensive engagement processes with all football stakeholders.
He also highlighted that Chiyangwa and his executive committee has done tremendous work in the development of the beautiful game considering the success in various competitions.
Today, Kamambo and his board that includes Banda, Sugar Chagonda, Machana, Brighton Malandule and Chamu Chiwanza joined by Barbra Chikosi and Farai Jere are expected to meet members of the secretariat, ZIFA employees and other stakeholders.
