FORMER Premier Soccer League chairman Tapiwa Matangaidze has pulled out of the race for the ZIFA chairmanship, slightly over a week before the eagerly-awaited ballot.

Premier Services Medical Aid Society CEO Cuthbert Dube is now the front-runner for the top job.

Matangaidze’s withdrawal, announced Tuesday, leaves three candidates: Dube, former PSL secretary general Leslie Gwindi and the former CAPS United and Warriors defender Charlie Jones.

Matangaidze, who left his post at the PSL to fight for the ZIFA job, now says he will be ready to run for ZIFA chairman “in four years’ time”.

Dube, who owned the now defunct PSL side Buymore, has promised a raft of changes if he is elected on March 27.

He said: “The whole game is in a mess right now, starting from the area zones, districts, provinces, regions, the PSL and the national teams. There will be massive restructuring.

“I preside over a huge group of companies with huge budgets compared to ZIFA. Frankly, I will be able to turn around ZIFA through putting in place systems. And staff should adhere to those systems and if they can’t, then they should not be part of us.

“The secretariat should also be controlled, and not be allowed to embark on unsanctioned and irrelevant trips such as those to Malaysia.

“Soccer has reached a stage where nobody wants to sponsor it, be it ZIFA or its affiliates. The reason is that there is no transparency in football administration.

“Football is crying for a reputable leadership. We should have a situation where when you go to a sponsor, they have confidence in you.”