Online Reporter
Bunjira On Saturday
HELLO Zimbabwe.
My name is Alois Bunjira. I am a former professional footballer and it’s my privilege to host you on this space which has been donated to me by my brother Robson Sharuko on his weekly blog.
I am a seasoned sports analyst, broadcaster, game planner, football coach and administrator and I’m running for a place on the ZIFA board.
Zimbabwe football has been in decline for the past two decades.
I believe the first thing we need to talk about Zimbabwe football is RESTRUCTURING.
We need to make sure that the whole football pyramid is functioning from area zones right to the top.
We need to have kids playing football again in the streets in urban areas, in the rural areas and throughout the whole nation.
We need provincial leagues for Under-13s, Under-15s, Under-17s and Under-19s.
This is the best way to make sure that all talented young boys and girls are playing regular organised football.
All academies should be part of these leagues, including junior teams from PSL clubs who should adhere to the Club Licensing requirement of having junior teams.
We need to go back to the basics and have tournaments like the Under-14 Chibuku Trophy and the Under-16 Castle Cup for both boys and girls.
We need to ensure that our brightest young footballers develop some form of a bond at a very young age.
We now have so many social or boozers’ leagues, Christians league, marketers league, lawyers’ leagues etc.
All these need to be encouraged to join the Lower divisions and play organised football in the Zimbabwean football pyramid.
If we are really looking for quick international success, we can’t look any further than women’s football.
It is easier to close the gap between the best in the world and us.
I believe we need to start having academies and junior teams for girls, playing in organised leagues.
Primary and Secondary schools should also have organised girls football leagues just like for the boys.
That way we will have a large pool of talented young girls playing football at a young age, unlike the current situation where girls who are interested in football at a young age have to play with boys, or only start playing serious football after they finish high school.
Futsal is the cornerstone of football development. It is supposed to be given the best support possible.
Junior Futsal leagues need to be established and Primary and Secondary Schools need to start having Futsal leagues.
Technical ability, skill, close control, speed of thought and agility are all developed faster at Futsal.
There is also a need for PSL and Division teams to have their teams registered with the Futsal Senior Provincial league.
Just like Futsal, beach football is very important for the development of footballers.
The same structure of Futsal should be found at BEACH football.
Beach football pitches can be developed anywhere, as long as there is the acquisition of sand.
It doesn’t need to be at the beach.
We need to have all our national teams participating in international tournaments, from the Danone Under 12s, Under 15, Under 17, Under 20, Under 23 and the senior national team in all its formats.
The selection of junior national teams should be done by a technical committee set up by the association, consisting of members from different provinces in the country, including scouts appointed in selected different countries around the world.
The committee will give the national team coaches at least 50 junior players to start working with, until they come up with a formidable team consisting of both foreign and local players.
I will push for us to have ZIFA Football Centres.
We need to have as many qualified coaches across the country as possible. I believe we should bring back Level 3 and 4 to our coaching syllabus, before embarking onto the CAF licences.
Just like coaching, we need regular and continuous coaching courses for referees at the provincial football centres.
I also believe it is time we start having referee classes, even for boys and girls still in high school who would have decided on a refereeing career very early in their lives.
The relationship between football and the media should be very healthy and mutually beneficial.
This starts at the football association level cascading down to the clubs.
Creating a great environment for the media gives football a chance to be naturally marketed via the media.
Print and electronic media play a big part in the football business.
When things are done right, with the media in a good space, football reaches every home and every corner of the country.
That brings excitement and love for football across the country.
Creating a good environment for the media doesn’t mean bribing or giving the media people some good stories.
It means creating a good product.
Football doesn’t have to pay broadcasters, but broadcasters have to pay football.
TOGETHER WE CAN, NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE
We need to find a way for the national broadcaster to broadcast local topflight matches weekly and broadcast the national team games, home and away.
The association cannot survive on FIFA grants alone. There has to be partnerships and sponsorships for the association.
Effort should be put to achieve this, each junior national team should have its own corporate sponsor. That agenda should be pushed at all costs.
There are many things like accommodation, transport, food, beverages that the association should not be paying for, when the team is in camp.
Partners should also be found because this all reduces the burden on the FIFA grants.
The Football Association and Premier Soccer League should also take branding seriously. The ZIFA brand should always be enhanced and protected.
Good branding improves marketability and a great social standing.
Football should also be able to attract rich corporates and wealthy business-people.
Commercialisation is important for the Football Association, Premier Soccer League and all football clubs in the pyramid, more so, the professional clubs in the top-flight.
Partnerships and income generating business should be the order of the day for the clubs, on match days, across the week and across the year.
Merchandise sales, player development and sales, match day income generating activities, sponsorship, partnerships, retail shops for club or national teams merchandise, should be the norm for the Association and the Premiership.
FIFA grants already have an address. We simply need to direct the FIFA grant where it is supposed to go.
That is one area I will advocate for and push for, if I get elected into the board.
We may not be able to implement and enforce all the requirements, considering our economic environment, but there are basic requirements which are vital to survival of football and its professionalism that we should not ignore and take for granted.
If the economy is an excuse for that, then we have no business to be in football.
When we say football is business, we mean football should be a viable business that should give a profit.
So, we should look for ways football can be a viable business.
Sponsorship and partnerships are a part of football business. Surely, we cannot be doing football business when clubs do not have junior structures, websites, offices, retail shops nor proper structures.
We need our football clubs at the elite level to fulfil all the basic requirements.
Those in need of help should be helped.
Constant workshops of football management, administration contracts, player welfare should be done with all football clubs and organisations within the football pyramid across the country.
Contrary to what others believe, there are many times fans have to be mobilised or enticed to football through entertaining activities and promotions.
These need to be done on a regular basis.
Fans are the owners of the game and play a very big role in football development.
With bums on seats, football has a case to take to other stakeholders for partnerships.
The traditional ZIFA Cup should come back.
That knockout tournament, involving lower league teams as well, brings excitement for football across the country.
It is good for football and its development.
We definitely need a good relationship with the Government of Zimbabwe.
Without Government support and involvement, it is difficult to survive. We need the Government to take keen interest in football and its support is vital for development and national teams
Football should be at the forefront in spearheading sport tourism.
When teams travel across the country to play against each other, it is an opportunity to showcase the country via clubs’ social media pages and websites.
That is a direct contribution to the country’s economy.
If football is run properly, it can be a big industry, employing a lot of people, generating a lot of money, including foreign currency for the country, playing a big role in creating a good social environment, taking young boys and girls off the streets, away from substance abuse.
Football is a unifier and helps foster unity and peace in the country.
It can contribute massively to the country’s GDP.
All this is not just the board’s work. It is a collective effort with the board leading the way, with every member of the council playing their part at their stations.
Councillors are already football leaders in their constituencies and they play a very big role in all that I have outlined.
They are key to the success of football development and football economy growth.
They are the ones who are in the trenches and making things happen.
Their roles should be recognised and saluted.
Football in Zimbabwe can only grow and be a spectacle again.
NOTHING is impossible. TOGETHER WE CAN!
