The politics and public administration nexus in the practice of football administration in Zimbabwe

Abstract

The topical focus of the paper is to examine how national sports administration reflects the interconnectedness of politics and public administration in Zimbabwe. To achieve this aim, the paper examines the patron-client relationship between the Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) and the ruling political party, the Zimbabwe African National Union–Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF). The paper demonstrates how the interference of ZANU-PF in the management of the ZIFA has soiled the governance and formal administration of the national football administration body. The study reveals that due to constant political manipulation, ZIFA has been marred by allegations of corruption and maladministration, sexual harassment and the marginalization of women and the subsequent suspension by the global football governing body, the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) in February 2022. The paper argues that these challenges are not unique to football administration but are reflective of the broader public administration culture in Zimbabwe, which is entangled with partisan politics. This entanglement has over the years expressed itself through transactional relationships, whereby the ruling ZANU-PF seeks to control football administration for its political and hegemonic purposes. Some individuals have used their political links with ZANU-PF as political capital to both legitimize and entrench their football administration careers. This implies that ZIFA has morphed into a subsidiary of the ruling political establishment, in the process compromising its independence as a football governing and regulatory body. Football administration is therefore a useful lens that can help us understand and theorize on the impact of politics in public administration. Methodologically, the paper utilizes a qualitative research design which included in-depth interviews and document analysis with the intent to capture and express in detail the nexus of politics and football administration in Zimbabwe.

Keywords:

• Football administration
• patron-client relationship
• public administration
• political inference
• transactional relationships

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 The Standard December 13 2015

2 Interview with Alex (Pseudonym) a Sports Journalist

3 The Zimbabwean August 24 2007

4 New Zimbabwe April 16 2021

5 The Herald October 16 2015

6 Interview with Donald (a pseudonym) retired football player

7 ZimEye February 23 2022

8 The Chronicle September 15 2011

9 The Herald September 9 2004

10 The Herald 21 August 2013

11 The Herald November 8 2010

12 The Chronicle September 16 2013

13 The Newsday February 2 2017

14 The Herald April 23 2022

15 The Sunday Mail 06 February 2022

16 The Herald October 31 2018

17 ZimEye December 16 2018

18 Soccer24 February 22 2022

19 The Herald February 14 2022

20 The Sunday Mail February 6 2022

21 The Chronicle 08 February 2022

22 ZANU PF Patriots February 28 2022

1 These may include soccer, cricket, basketball, rugby and hockey.

2 The ZIFA served a 15-month FIFA suspension from February 2022 to July 2023.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Tafadzwa Blessing Choto

Tafadzwa Blessing Choto, Lecturer in the Department of Community Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, Midlands State University, Zimbabwe.

Leon Poshai

Leon Poshai, Lecturer in the Department of Governance and Public Management, Faculty of Social Sciences, Midlands State University, Zimbabwe.