Zifa remind teams of technical staff minimum qualifications

ZIFA has reminded clubs that the minimum qualifications for its technical staff will remain in force in the coming season as it surges ahead with its total professionalisation and standardisation of the local game.

The position is also in line with the Fifa and Caf club licensing requirement which is slowly being accepted in the local game although some sectors still find it overburdening.

“The Zimbabwe Football Association (Zifa) would like to remind all football stakeholders that it will continue to enforce adherence to club licensing regulations in line with proposals from the Federation of International Football (Fifa) and the Confederation of African Football (Caf).

“As was the case in the 2017 football season, football clubs’ technical teams should be made up of suitably qualified personnel, a move meant to infuse professionalism in the local game,” read excerpts from the statement released by the association on Thursday.

The Fifa system requires the standardisation of coaches’ qualifications. All Premier Soccer League coaches and their assistants must have attained a CAf A Licence, while head coaches practicing in the regional Division One leagues should be Caf B Licence holders.

Coaches who attained local Level Three and Four certificates before they were scrapped off the local curriculum can use those certificates to practice in the regional league.

Assistant coaches in the Division One league should have at least a Level 2 local badge.

Divisions Two, Three and Four coaches should be in possession of a Caf C Licence or the local Level Three or Four, and the same barometer applies to coaches in tertiary institutions.

A grassroots coaching certificate and a local Level Two licence are prerequisites for junior football coaches as well as those working with pupils at primary and secondary school level.

Goalkeepers’ coaches will be eligible to practice if they have attained at least a local Level Two coaching qualification.

Team managers are also obliged to have attained at least a football administration certificate. Team managers can alternatively be in possession of any coaching qualification.

All technical team members should submit two passport size photos to the Zifa registration offices for the purposes of accreditation for the 2018 season.

All officials will be furnished with accreditation badges, and the badge will be a prerequisite for officials to be granted permission to sit on the bench during the 2018 season. — @innocentskizoe.