‘Club licensing not meant to suffocate clubs’

ZIFA executive committee member Piraishe Mabhena and communications and competitions manager Xolisani Gwesela attended a joint Fifa/ Caf professional football conference in Egypt whose underlying agenda was total professionalisation of African football.

The two-day conference started on Tuesday and ended yesterday, with the delegates attending the Egyptian Premier League match between Al Ahly and Smouha at the Cairo International Stadium yesterday.

The indaba tackled important topics such as club licensing, management of stadiums and the formation of National Disputes Resolution Chamber, among other strategic football development subjects.

“It is our honour together with the First Instance Body chairman (FIB) Mabhena to attend such a prestigious and invaluable conference, which discussed at length matters to professionalise African football. Football has undergone a revolution and professionalism results in prosperity of our clubs and in turn produce indefatigable national teams,” said Gwesela from Cairo.

“We are grateful to Caf and Fifa for organising such a beneficial conference. We will take what we learnt here and implement it back home. Club licensing is never meant to suffocate the clubs, but to help them adhere to professional standards.”

In line with club licensing, the FIB shall decide on whether a licence shall be granted to an applicant club on the basis of documentation provided it is in accordance with provisions of the national club regulations set by the licensor. — @skhumoyo2000