FIFA has reportedly resolved to extend Lincoln Mutasa’s tenure as the chairman of the ZIFA Normalisation Committee (NC).
According to The Herald, FIFA head of development programmes for Africa, Solomon Mudege, is in the country following the expiry of the Normalisation Committee’s initial mandate on June 30, 2024.
Mudege is in the company of the world body’s regional development manager for Southern Africa, David Fani.
However, FIFA director of member associations Africa Gelson Fernades and the senior manager of member associations Sarah Solemale did not travel to Harare, according to the report.
Instead, the FIFA officials have been participating virtually, during the series of meetings that Mudege has lined up to address the state of ZIFA and the Zimbabwean game.
The FIFA officials, who flew in on Tuesday night, met the Normalisation Committee in a lengthy meeting on Wednesday after which Mutasa’s tenure was extended.
According to the report, FIFA has retained former Mighty Warriors captain and coach Rosemary Mugadza, as well as lawyer Nyasha Sanyamandwe, as members of the ZIFA Normalisation Committee.
However, the global football governing body has opted to remove former Highlanders defender Sikhumbuzo Ndebele and Mutasa’s former deputy, Cynthia Malaba, from the committee. The Herald quoted a source as saying:
FIFA had considered bringing in a whole new Normalisation Committee, but there were fears that appointing new people could delay the whole bid to hold ZIFA elections because these new members would need time to settle in.
So it was resolved to carry on with those that are already there in the system and then tweak the composition of the Normalisation Committee.
FIFA and the Normalisation Committee have been having a series of meetings. After evaluating their performances and impact on the association and the Zimbabwe football reform process, FIFA decided to drop Ndebele and Malaba and retain the other three.
So from now on, FIFA wants Mutasa and his committee to ensure that the ZIFA Congress holds an extraordinary meeting to deliberate on and adopt the constitutional amendments.
After that, the Normalisation Committee must appoint an electoral committee and outline the elections road map.
FIFA want the ZIFA elections to have been held by the first quarter of next year, which would mean that the remainder of the year must be used to start the elections for the affiliate bodies.
So, the rest of the administrative issues will now be handled by the general secretary (Yvonne Mapika Manwa) and the secretariat.
This means the Normalisation Committee cannot afford to divert their attention to such things as the national teams or administrative or development matters.
That explains why FIFA told the Normalisation Committee to leave the appointment of a substantive coach to the next ZIFA leadership.
FIFA reportedly informed the Committee that their tenure will not exceed the agreed-upon date this time. Added the source:
Instead, they must try to even finish the task beforehand but what is clear is that FIFA now wants elections for a substantive ZIFA executive committee to be held.
Mudege and his team are expected to have a meeting with the Sports and Recreation Commission (SRC) board on Friday morning.
The ZIFA Normalisation Committee has faced criticism during its tenure for failing to significantly improve football administration in Zimbabwe.
Some have argued the committee has performed worse than the previous ZIFA leadership under Felton Kamambo, whose suspension by the SRC a few years ago ultimately led to Zimbabwe being banned from international football tournaments by FIFA.
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