LAST night I received an email from Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) president, Cuthbert Dube which left me enlightened on the rudiments of how to run football.
Curiously, Dube was asking me to give the mail to Robson Sharuko, The Herald Senior Sports Editor ‘because you are his friend’ and ‘all those who have football at heart like me’.
We are certainly revelling in good times these days.
We have once again qualified for the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2019 Finals after our exploits at the last edition of the prestigious tournament where we finished as runners up.
Dube is currently in Zurich where the 2018 FIFA World Cup draw was held yesterday afternoon.
We were put in the same group with our former colonisers, England, whom we will play in the opening encounter in what promises to be an emotional and nail-biting contest.
Also in our group are the reigning world champions Germany and minnows Albania.
Given our current form I see no reason why we shouldn’t qualify from this group.
After all, we thumped Argentina, France, Ivory Coast and Spain in our friendly matches.
From his letter I comprehended and approbated the datum that Cuthbert Dube is a man who loves and fathoms football more than anyone else.
He is a judicious leader whose stewardship has coxswained us to the grander levels we are at today.
Who can taint him?
Robson Sharuko?
Professor Jonathan Moyo?
Thabeth Kanengoni Malinga?
Football fans?
The nation?
Below in italics is Dube’s letter and his ‘vision’ in the next few years:
Dear Cde Golden Guvamatanga, our dearest partner of greatness in football,
Cde Jonathan Mashingaidze, my esteemed right handman and the brains behind the current success of Zimbabwean football tells me that you could not make it to the 2018 FIFA World Cup Finals draw because he mistakenly put you in the same basket with that boy Robson Sharuko and his band of confused and confusing noisemakers.
My apologies for that.
I promise to make it up to you.
I write to you with all the football love from Zurich, that famous city in Switzerland.
You might have heard that we were drawn in the same group against England (I love those men).
I have put in place a budget of around US$1 million for Government officials like Professor Jonathan Moyo, Thabeth Kanengoni, and of course Robson Sharuko to watch this historic match in Moscow.
Of course we (Mashingaidze and I) have had to shelve paying the likes of Valinhos, Madinda Ndlovu, Tom Saintfiet, Norman Mapeza, Rahman Gumbo, Klaus Dieter Pagels, Ian Gorowa, to mention a few that Sharuko and his Herald team make deafening noises about.
Our match against England is just too important to ignore.
And by the way I will watch this match and put The Herald to shame for attempting to alert the Guinness Book of Records that I watched just one out of 69 matches since I took over office in March 2010.
That is nonsense and as one of the few people who stood by us (Mashingaidze and I) during our trying times, you know Cde Guvamatanga that Sharuko is mad.
“Should Dube retain his way of doing business, and not watch the Warriors in action when the 2017 Nations Cup finals get underway in June, he could clock 50 games of internationals, without cheering his men from the stands, and that could be enough for him to get a place in the Guinness Book of Records,” Sharuko wrote a few years ago.
“Even when the home-based Warriors went on a good run, during the 2014 CHAN finals in South Africa, and played 10 games, including the qualifiers, which included a magnificent 1-0 win over Zambia in their backyard, Dube was not there by their side.
“The Warriors also reached the final of the COSAFA Cup, in Zambia where they tried to defend the title they won in 2009, but it was not enough to lure the ZIFA president to come and cheer them in their quest for glory.
“The senior national team has faced 19 countries — Cape Verde (twice), Mali (three times), Liberia (twice), Guinea (twice), Burundi (twice), Angola (twice), Egypt (twice), Mozambique (twice), Tanzania (twice), Mauritius (twice), Zambia (three times), Morocco (once), Uganda (twice), Burkina Faso (once), Libya (once), Nigeria (once), Malawi (once), Djibouti (once), Rwanda (once) — in competitive matches and none of those games have been enough to lure the ZIFA president to come and cheer them.
“The friendly international matches have included matches against Malawi, Zambia, South Africa, Tanzania and Botswana.”
I missed the friendly matches we played against Argentina, France, Ivory Coast and Spain because I was enjoying myself, far away from the madding crowd and ever prying eyes of your colleagues in the media.
Vanopenga vaya and manje this time vachanyara chete.
On the issue of national Under-17 and Under-20 teams, being banned, do not worry, we will deal with it after the World Cup.
Someone tells me that one Maisiri resigned from ZIFA, I laughed my lungs out when I heard that.
Nhai Guvamatanga who cares kana ana Maisiri nana Twine Phiri vakaenda?
I own those ZIFA Councillors.
Who cares?
Are we not in the World Cup?
And to all those who say I killed football, I can only laugh.
I refer them to my 2010 manifesto. Didn’t I say I had unfinished business and that I wanted ‘to leave a legacy in Zimbabwean football’?
“My board, through partnerships with corporates and Government, shall ensure that strong national teams are put together through a sound technical system that shall only see the best of Zimbabwe’s players donning national team jerseys,” I said then.
I leave it here and hope you will give Sharuko this mail.
Yours in football.
Cuthbert Dube (ZIFA Life president).
I woke up to find that like many Zimbabwean soccer fans, it was just a dream that will never come to pass as long as we have Cuthbert Dube running our football.
Yes Cuthbert Dube will take us to AFCON and World Cup, only in our dreams.
Let those with ears listen.