ZANZIBAR football crisis started at a low profile pace but the situation has now worsened courtesy of new link that has taken over to escalate the situation.
It rarely happened before that football which used to bring people together and automatically iron their differences is now becoming a new source of misunderstandings in the Isles.
This is a delicate situation and authorities should step in to make timely clearance. Division of fans and officials on the basis of their political polarity has never been a tradition both in Zanzibar, Mainland Tanzania and possibly elsewhere.
Zanzibar football has been on the decline for a long time but the recent political quagmire has thrown the Island’s football governing body into a leadership wrangle that threatens to send everything to the graveyard.The Island’s football governing body, Zanzibar Football Association (ZFA) leadership has been embroiled in a wrangle with its vice-chairman of the body, Haji Ameir Haji.
They are now two factions, one being led by ZFA president and another by ZFA vice president. Both are claiming a right to manage and lead Zanzibar football.
ZFA vice chairman, who acknowledges to have resigned is opposing the association’s move to sideline him from getting involved in ZFA’s matters. He has since sought court of laws to seek intervention.
The high court intervention complicates matters. FIFA has very clear rules surrounding third-party interference, including the government in national football federations. It has laid down statutes that prohibit football matters being resolved in courts of laws to keep at bay government interference.
According to one of the statute, FIFA will punish associations that fail to impose sanctions on ‘leagues, members of leagues, clubs, members of clubs, players, officials and other association officials’ that ignore a prohibition on recourse to ordinary courts of law.
ZFA is not a FIFA member and this seems to embolden one side that is fighting in the public by threatening to even take TFF president, Jamal Malinzi to court for what they term interference.
Sport is not a union matter between Zanzibar and Tanganyika, so TFF has no control or power in Zanzibar’s football activities. According to TFF constitution, ZFA is not a member of TFF and the latter can only advise the former.
However, Zanzibar takes part in CAF club competitions and Cecafa competitions. So in effect CAF can impose sanctions on ZFA and TFF can also decide not to cooperate with ZFA in player’s transfer and international friendlies which would further weaken Zanzibar football.
Where does one faction get the power and authority to threaten everyone? The truth is that the politics of Zanzibar have seeped into ZFA.
One faction is alleged to be ‘full of people from Pemba’ while the other is said to be backed by those from Unguja. It gets murky, as the two political parties that are in a political stalemate gets involved by backing their own sides. The newly coined word ‘mkwamo wa kisiasa’ has its own meaning here.
Unguja is CCM’s stronghold and so the party is said to be backing the faction from Unguja. Pemba is Civic United Front, CUF’s stronghold hence they are backing their own.
It is a fascinating case of a dangerous mixture of politics and football. Shots have been fired and we can expect one faction to hit back.
In all this, TFF is only playing a diplomatic role but unsurprisingly it will have to deal with accusation of being adverse to one faction. A point will reach where TFF will have no choice but to write to CAF and FIFA to intervene.
CAF intervention could mean the suspension of Zanzibar from all international football activities. This will lead to Zanzibar clubs missing out on the CAF Champions League and CAF Confederations Cup. Zanzibar players would also find it impossible to move outside their poor and inferior league.
SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN
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