Story by Raynald Ngwarati
THE country’s football community has welcomed the appointment of Jairos Tapera as the interim senior national men’s football team coach although concerns have been raised over the ZIFA Normalisation Committee’s competency.
As the clock winds down to the two World Cup qualification legs in South Africa, the football loving community has renewed optimism after ZIFA, through a statement, announced the four-men technical team set to do duty in South Africa next month.
The Premier Soccer League’s coach of the month, Jairos Tapera, along with the trio of Takesure Chiragwi, Saul Chaminuka and Sunday Chidzambga, were entrusted with supervising the Warriors’ next two qualification assignments, a move that fans believe restores some dignity in the sport.
“They have identified that these are the top coaches in the country, as you can see Manica Diamonds is topping the PSL standings so for the time being they will sail the team through as we look for a substantive coach,” said a fan.
“We continue to rally behind our team because it’s our team it’s our country’s team,” said another.
” Zimbabwe when it was a it’s peak, the stadiums would fill to capacity because everyone wanted to be there due to good coaching so let us give them a chance and see what they can do,” said yet another fan.
Meanwhile, others have expressed dissatisfaction with how the ZIFA Normalisation Committee is managing the country’s football in view of the upcoming two legs slated for South Africa in a fortnight.
“I play FIFA (video game) and it is our hope that we have Zimbabwe qualifying for the world cup so that Zimbabwe as a team will be represented in the game which is played across the globe. So, I suggest ZIFA must rectify these concerns because it’s heartbreaking, lamented a fan.
“Is this issue that we are using a homeground in Rwanda and South Africa normal? I think they’re disadvantaging us because we love football and we bet, so how will we bet?, another questioned.
“They abuse football here in Zimbabwe. This is a national team therefore the preparations should be thorough such that the technical team should have been already selected and a provisional team drafted,” noted another.
On fire Tapera will be assisted by Ngezi Platinum’s Chiragwi and Green Fuel’s Saul Chaminuka while Sunday Chidzambga bounces back as technical advisor.
The four will oversee the resumption of the Warriors’ World Cup Qualification journey on the 7th of June against Lesotho, and the ensuing tie against South Africa before taking charge of the COSAFA tournament there after.
