Eddie Chikamhi — ZIFA presidential aspirant Gilbert Muponda says he didn’t wish to break up the vote between himself and rival candidate Nqobile Magwizi after making a shock withdrawal from the race yesterday.
The Harare businessman as an alternative stated he was throwing his help behind Magwizi forward of the January 2025 election because the two candidates shared the identical imaginative and prescient and values.
Muponda has been participating the soccer neighborhood for the previous two months with a strong 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 disenchanted with the withdrawal as effectively, however I’m certain that you know the way elections work, that you’ve a sure platform that you’re campaigning primarily based on, like your manifesto, your values, ideas, and imaginative and prescient.
“Should you 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 help from the identical quotas.
“So, Magwizi and I have been pushing a sure imaginative and prescient geared toward commercialising soccer and bringing company sponsorship, company construction, and company governance into our recreation.
“Our {qualifications} are virtually comparable, our imaginative and prescient is sort of comparable, so it means we’re going to appeal to the identical votes, and we danger 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 suitable credentials to guide the sport.
“Nqobile Magwizi is certified, skilled, and has a clear, confirmed file of mobilising assets for the sport. He’s essentially the most deserving candidate who possesses the mandatory abilities and experience required to remodel Zimbabwean soccer.
“I sincerely consider we share the identical imaginative and prescient, technique, and abilities to make our recreation nice once more, and as such I withdraw with full confidence that Nqobile Magwizi will remodel the sport when given the chance to guide ZIFA,” stated Muponda in a Fb submit.
The ZIFA government committee elections might be held on January 25.
