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AS the Herentals Football Club President, I would like to congratulate two of the institution’s esteemed staff members on their election onto the ZIFA board.
Both Loveness Mukura, who has made history by becoming the first female vice-president of the association, and Tafadzwa Benza, who is one of the youngest ZIFA board members, deserve their places with the stars.
It was a really tough race for all the candidates but their persistence and determination won them the voters’ hearts.
It’s a confirmation of their professionalism and perpetual quest to achieve what they sat out to attain.
I know the duo, inside out, and I feel their selection onto the ZIFA board is what their enthusiasm and passion merit.
They love the game and always want to develop it.
I can tell you that when they first told me that they wanted to enter into the race, they split my mind. I thought maybe they were overambitious and they would lose.
But as people that I know very well, I then thought, well I can’t stand in their way. After all, I know how much they value the game and how much they want to see it succeed at a larger scale.
It is Loveness Mukura who worked flat out to strengthen the girls’ team, Herentals Queens, to be the force that you see today.
At first the team was participating in the league for the sake of it. But Mukura would always talk of the bigger picture. We started small but we were making the right steps in a systematic way and you can now see Herentals Queens are dominating the Women Soccer League.
They will become the first team from Zimbabwe to compete at the CAF Women’s Champions League twice when they contest in the COSAFA qualifiers this year.
Mukura played a huge part for this team to be what it is today.
She is also the one who initiated the equal pay policy between the girls and boys. It is true that they receive equal pay and it is a huge step that we have made as the Herentals institution.
And when you see someone with that line of thinking and development-oriented being given the mandate to contribute on a national scale, you ought to give it your full blessings.
This is the reason why I am so happy to see her in that position.
I am very confident her ideas will be valuable especially given that she will work with football people like the association president Nqobile Magwizi and her co-vice-president Kenny Ndebele.
I should also be quick to point out that these two gentlemen are what the doctor ordered for Zimbabwe football. Their track records speak volumes about their capacity and there is nothing that can stop them from steering our football from coast to coast.
The same goes to the entire board which is also composed of Davison Muchena, Brighton Ushendibaba, Cynthia Zeure, Kudzai Kadzombe and Thomas Marambanyika.
These guys deserve everyone’s support and our football will progress pretty well.
On Tafadzwa Benza, well, I am a proud father. This is my boy who went to school and attained his actuarial science qualifications.
But I was surprised to hear him saying he wouldn’t be searching for work. He pledged to work for the Herentals Group of Schools and Colleges while also overseeing operations at the football teams under our wings.
He has massively transformed the way we do our business as a team. He has led us to spaces where we never dreamt would reach when we started the men’s team.
We now have 14 professional teams dotted across the country and playing in different leagues on top of the expansive academy that has up to 20 000 players under development.
When you see someone with such a passion and a will to see the game developing, you ought to be happy to see them taking leadership positions at a higher level.
I am very happy and would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the pair as well as all those elected, including the new president Magwizi.