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The herald
Eddie Chikamhi Senior Sports Reporter
The CAF A licensing program is being reviewed amid concerns that most people with badges, especially in this country, have not participated in competitive football structures.
There was also concern that the program in Zimbabwe could also have been used in the past as a money-making venture rather than boosting coaches' qualifications, as envisaged by CAF.
ZIFA began offering CAF A courses in 2014, but the program was discontinued in 2017, harming a number of coaches who hoped to get the badges and continue their careers.
Zimbabwe's coaches apparently were forced to pay more than their regional counterparts, since they had to shell out $ 1,000 for CAF A and $ 600 for CAF B.
Their counterparts in Botswana, by comparison, paid the equivalent of $ 200 for CAF B.
Curiously, statistics show that more than 75 local trainers have obtained CAF A licenses in a country whose main league has 18 clubs.
While CAF courses are conducted only in English in Zimbabwe, in South Africa they use local languages such as Xhosa and Zulu.
It also emerged that most of those with CAF A License badges in Zimbabwe are teachers, whose highest levels of education make testing passable, but most of them are not tied to any competitive football club.
CAF is wondering where those who benefited from the License A program have been delivered, as most of them seem to be hanging those badges on their homes without using the knowledge they have gained.
This has led to a review of the program, and suspension of courses, and this has seen coaches like Joel Luphahla, who wanted to achieve these badges, being disadvantaged as ZIFA say that they can not guide a Premiership club without the license.
Some critics have also questioned how Warriors coach Sunday Chidzambwa, who does not have a CAF A license, is authorized by ZIFA to take over the senior national team, while someone like Luphahla can not lead a club in the national Premiership.
Chidzambwa won his coaching emblems in Brazil under the tutelage of legendary Mario Zagallo, the first man to win the World Cup as a player and coach.
Zambia coach Fred Mwila, one of the most talented gafers in his country, was also part of that class.
While the domestic arrangement is rude to emerging coaches like Luphahla, who guided his TelOne to the Premiership, the European set-up accommodates his promising crop of coaches.
That's why Steve Gerrard was allowed to train the Scottish giants Rangers last year, although he has not yet completed his UEFA Pro-License coaching badge.
Luphahla has a CAF B badge.
Veteran coach Moses Chunga, who is also chairman of the Zimbabwe Football Coaches Union, said yesterday that the coaches were deprived of their careers and asked ZIFA to reconsider its position.
"I think we're getting very free on this," he said. "Football, by its very nature, is more practical and we have to take it from there.
"Some coaches are qualified by experience. They've been there and we've all seen what they did and all of a sudden they can not be bad coaches.
"So that's why I ask our authorities to see how they can help these people get this certification.
"But, now, ZIFA is not offering the course, so why not dismiss the requirement until we take the course back to the offer.
"Yes, it is good for more knowledge, but authorities should also look at various considerations. Some people are failing in these courses, not because they do not understand football, but because the courses are taught in a foreign language.
"I think people should learn the language they understand. Just like in Spain, they do it in Spanish, in Italy it's in Italian, in Portugal in Portuguese and so on.
"People need to understand that English is just a language and not a measure of intelligence."
ZIFA board member Bryton Malandule said CAF stopped issuing the license because the program was being revised to meet world expectations.
"It is not true that we have been limited. What happened is that CAF is revising its curriculum to align it with the rest of the world so that a coach can still practice even if he goes to America or Europe with a badge equivalent to the UEFA license.
"So it's not only in Zimbabwe that the training courses were suspended, but all of Africa. You can check on the internet.
"CAF is keen to ensure that even the course instructors are highly qualified.
"We are one of the countries that have adopted standardization in accordance with CAF and FIFA recommendations."
Wilson Mtekede told the ZIFA website last year that selecting the right candidates was critical.
To ensure quality delivery during courses, class sizes will be limited to a maximum of 25 participants for CAF licenses A and B, and no more than 30 for CAF C courses.
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