Eddie Chikamhi — ZIFA presidential aspirant Gilbert Muponda says he didn’t need to cut up the vote between himself and rival candidate Nqobile Magwizi after making a shock withdrawal from the race yesterday.
The Harare businessman as a substitute stated he was throwing his assist behind Magwizi forward of the January 2025 election because the two candidates shared the identical imaginative and prescient and values.
Muponda has been partaking the soccer group for the previous two months with a sturdy marketing campaign hinged on 5 pillars that embrace commercialisation, monetisation, corporatisation, standardisation, and modernisation.
His withdrawal was introduced simply 24 hours earlier than the shut of the nomination course of, which ends at this time.
“I am partly disillusioned with the withdrawal as properly, however I’m certain that you understand how elections work, that you’ve got a sure platform that you’re campaigning based mostly on, like your manifesto, your values, ideas, and imaginative and prescient.
“For those who look across the candidates and also you see somebody who shares the identical imaginative and prescient with you, it means each of you will be chasing the identical votes, otherwise you get assist from the identical quotas.
“So, Magwizi and I had been pushing a sure imaginative and prescient geared toward commercialising soccer and bringing company sponsorship, company construction, and company governance into our sport.
“Our {qualifications} are virtually comparable, our imaginative and prescient is sort of comparable, so it means we’re going to entice the identical votes, and we threat splitting votes between myself and him.
“There are different candidates who we’re nonetheless attempting to have interaction to say, ‘Why do not we stand down and provides sup-port to at least one robust candidate who represents our imaginative and prescient and values, and that candidate can go and win the election,” stated Muponda.
He believes Magwizi has the correct credentials to steer the sport.
“Nqobile Magwizi is certified, skilled, and has a clear, confirmed report of mobilising assets for the sport. He’s probably the most deserving candidate who possesses the mandatory abilities and experience required to remodel Zimbabwean soccer.
“I sincerely imagine we share the identical imaginative and prescient, technique, and abilities to make our sport nice once more, and as such I withdraw with full confidence that Nqobile Magwizi will rework the sport when given the chance to steer ZIFA,” stated Muponda in a Fb put up.
The ZIFA govt committee elections shall be held on January 25.