Game-On Reporter
After rebranding the ZIFA Northern Region Soccer League into a top brand on the local football scene, aspiring ZIFA board member Sweeney Mushonga has now set his sights on transforming the image of ZIFA to an international standard.
The NRSL has become a brand to reckon with in recent years, attracting sponsors in the course, and Mushonga together with aspiring ZIFA president Martin Kweza have been credited with the turnaround of the league.
Rebranding ZIFA is one of the areas that Mushonga seeks to address when elected into office as a board member.
“We are aware of the issues that are affecting ZIFA at the moment. And I believe with all the experience that I’ve been in football for quite a number of years, and I know exactly what has to be done right from day one.
“I have worked with Gunners, and we made sure that Gunners was a formidable club.
“I have worked at Northern Region Soccer League and we managed to rebrand the region and we have been able to use the NRSL Region’s new image to attract sponsors and funding.
“So we need to do our things correctly, we need to focus, we need to understand what is required.
“We have the capacity to rebrand ZIFA, football is all about image, it’s all about perception,” said Mushonga.
The veteran sports administrator believes that there is need for the involvement of all football stakeholders if Zimbabwe is to be a force to reckon on the international stage.
“We need to be able to work with all stakeholders across the board. It is our responsibility to make sure that we bring in a new ZIFA that talks to our stakeholders.
“A new ZIFA which is alive to what is required by the people and raise the product of our game going forward.
“To make sure that we become a force to reckon once again, football is for the people and we need a combined effort of all stakeholders,” said Mushonga.
Mushonga believes that there is need to properly structure the new ZIFA calling for unity within the board.
“It is incumbent upon the members who are coming in, right from the top, to all the members in the board, to work together, to have that collective unity and have that unity of purpose so that we can push the agenda of ZIFA forward.
“The agenda of ZIFA is enshrined in the Constitution. So we’re not reinventing the wheel.
“We should be able to see the demand for our product even from the sponsors themselves. So yes, it is a collective responsibility that I am up for. And I believe the new people that are coming on board will also share the same vision,” said Mushonga.
