Zimbabwean football lagging 20 years behind, says ZIFA president Magwizi

Despite making positive strides in recent years, Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) president Nqobile Magwizi says football in the country still has a long way to go.

In a conversation on Marawa Sports Worldwide, he states that economic sanctions imposed on the Southern African country severely affected investment, even in sports.

Magwizi says, “Unfortunately, Zimbabwe, around 2002, was placed under economic sanctions, and that impacted the socio-economic well-being of the whole nation."

“As a result, it impacted how even the sport was going to be played. Most of our structures in the grassroots became compromised as a consequence."

He adds that investment into infrastructure and development has picked up again, but the country remains 20 years behind.

“Right now, we are at a place where a lot of work is going into trying to reclaim that former glory that we used to have around 2000, but for that whole period, there wasn’t any investment going into football.”

He states he also brought to FIFA's attention the continent's overall infrastructure deficiencies after his appointment as a member of the FIFA Commercial and Marketing Advisory.

“At a high level, they [FIFA] are looking at ways to address that… it does not make sense for football to be taken away from its people," he concludes.

To listen to Nqobile Magwizi, president of the Zimbabwe Football Association, in conversation with 947’s Robert Marawa, click the audio below: