Story by Raynald Ngwarati
THE Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) Normalisation Committee has been urged to act in the best interests of the national football team if the Warriors are to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Time is running out for the committee to appoint a new coach for the Warriors, raising concerns about its commitment to the team’s 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign.
The Warriors’ opening match against Lesotho is just two and a half weeks away, yet ZIFA has not finalised a technical team, while their opponents have already named their squads.
Football analyst, Bhekimpilo Nyoni sheds light on why top local coaches have not shown interest in the vacant post.
“The issue which happened to Norman Mapeza after the Four Nations Tournament in Malawi appeared as if Mapeza was coaching at the highest level for the first time. Someone who has won four league titles and we have seen teams win. That on its own tells everyone that this post has become too toxic to an extent that people started asking why they should waste their time.
“The advert itself was such a shocker because no one expected them to re-advertise. It was advertised and they gave the job to Brito. They then decided otherwise, rather than having a head hunt to search, they didn’t do that to an extent that everyone said if they think that they want us, they could come and talk to us.
“Usually, top coaches who are doing so well want to be approached rather than to apply, as a result, our top coaches have decided to say this administration seems to be an administration which doesn’t seem to understand what exactly they want and where exactly they should take our football to.”
Nyoni further criticises ZIFA’s handling of the coaching selection process
“A national team by right needs to be selected by the technical team. The coaches who are going to be working with the players are the ones who are supposed to name the players, but in our case at the Four Nations, the coach was appointed after the players had been brought together, which on its own, was a bad precedence.”
ZIFA is expected to name a coach by the 25th of this month.
Some high-profile names on the shortlist include Winfried Schafer, who led Cameroon to victory in the 2002 Africa Cup of Nations, and former Warriors coach Baltemer Brito.
