Ray Bande
Senior Reporter
NUMEROUS football clubs that once thrilled fans at various stadia in the country have sadly folded.
A few examples include Kiglon Bird, Joe Sengeredo’s Shooting Stars, Eric Rosen’s Motor Action, the late Douglas Kombo’s Mutare United, Lenghtens, Gunners, and Francis Dongo’s Dongo Sawmills FC.
This is just a small sample from a much longer list of defunct clubs.
The demise of these and numerous other football clubs can be attributed to various factors, but the underlying issue is often financial sustainability, particularly in the top-flight league.
Tafadzwa Benza, an aspiring ZIFA board member, firmly believes that a radical overhaul of club management structures and operations is essential to ensure the longevity of teams and uninterrupted development of talent.
As an actuarial scientist with a BSc in Actuarial Science and MSc in Actuarial Management, and currently pursuing a Doctorate in Strategic Management, Benza, intends to leverage his experience gained from working with Herentals FC to promote new management approach that alleviates the financial burden on clubs.
Benza said: “For long, our clubs and academies were being bankrolled by companies and individuals, and thus are unable to self-fund their operations.
I am committed to drive for administration models that promote financial independence and sustainability.
“Through transparent financial practices and investing recourses strategically, our football can become sustainable. The Herentals FC model I have been directly involved in is centred on developing young talent with a vision that they can bring in revenue for the project in the future through transfers and more importantly bringing back fans to stadium through the quality football they will play.
“I am proud to share with you that this is a long-term project that has already started bearing fruit for us. We sell players to other clubs, and our PSL team is largely supported by players that have graduated from our developmental teams.”
The youthful football administrator said the concept can also be adopted at national level.
“This can be adopted at a national level. I will give an example of France, they have so many world class talents in top leagues around the world. In an interview, a professional footballer who grew up in France explained that France has produced so many world talents by having infrastructure nationwide such that children are always playing football.
“Most of their players have African heritage, meaning we can achieve similar successes in our player development if we invest in their development. Producing good talent means, better players that raise the quality of our games – more fans in stadia – more revenues for clubs. Better players will raise funds through transfers. The development of quality players is the foundation of a sustainable football ecosystem,” he said.
Benza said the concept, in its implementation, should leave no place behind.
“To achieve these sustainability goals, I will push for the support of existing grassroots programmes and academies, and for the formation of more footballing programmes in areas that have been left behind. It is vital that the funds given by FIFA for junior football development are used as intended.
“The nurturing of young talent will enhance our football in the long term. The right training programmes and promotion of provincial and district junior leagues is key to achieving this.
“I will also push for the qualification into international tournaments for our junior national teams. These are a great platform for them to learn from others, and be able to market themselves internationally,” he said.
The Herentals FC administrator said football mainstream administration must also take issues related to drug abuse more seriously, especially among players.
“Life skills and educational support are also critical for young players, and my role in the Herentals Group will help me in driving for this. The issue of drug abuse has ravaged our communities, and the right programmes can help in the fight against drug abuse.
“Idle minds are dangerous and robust football programmes in communities can employ many, players, coaches, journalists just to mention a few. Ultimately, we should all drive for a better society through youth that thrive on and off the pitch,” said Benza.
He said, if elected, he would push for programmes that will allow everyone involved in the game opportunities to train and enhance their skills.
“I am cognisant of the fact that the supporting staff for our football to develop will need retraining and training of new practices. It is vital that our clubs and academies are led by competent coaches.
“We need qualified referees, and there is need to support them better in the heavy costs they incur to enhance their skills. Administrators also need to continuously improve their skills for our football to grow. I will actively push for programmes that will allow everyone involved in the game opportunities to train and enhance their skills,” he said.
