The Sunday News
ZIMBABWE like many countries in the world is a football loving nation as witnessed by thousands if not millions who follow the world’s most beautiful sport.
Before the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, Zimbabweans used to turn up in their numbers at local stadia to watch their favourite football teams do battle. They would then unite whenever the national team, affectionately known as the Warriors take to the field.
In a matter of hours, the Warriors go into battle against Senegal’s Lions of Teranga in their opening encounter at this year’s Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon.
Zimbabwe are making their fifth appearance at Africa’s biggest football fiesta having made their maiden dance at the showpiece in 2004. This is Zimbabwe’s third qualification for the Afcon in a row, something that is commendable.
What is worrying though is that while the team is now a constant feature at the Afcon, Zimbabwe are yet to go beyond the group stages of the tournament.
In fact, they have finished bottom of the group on the past four occasions, which is of great concern. We cannot as a country just be happy to be qualifying for the tournament and getting knocked out at the first hurdle. We are not making progress as a country. It is about time Zimbabwe stand up and be counted.
We are aware that asking the Warriors to win the tournament would be asking for a lot from them when some teams have the likes of Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah, Riyad Mahrez and Edouard Mendy, some of the best players in the world.
Zimbabwe head into this Afcon without some of the country’s finest players in Marvelous Nakamba, Marshal Munetsi and Brendan Galloway who are all injured while Khama Billiat and Tendayi Darikwa are not in Cameroon for personal reasons.
It would have been great to have Billiat in the team in Cameroon, after all it was his two goals which secured the Warriors a 2-1 victory over Chipolopolo of Zambia in November 2019 and kept them on course to qualify after they had played out a goalless draw against Botswana at home four days before.
This is viewed as the weakest ever Zimbabwean team to take part in the Afcon yet this is the group of players that might finally take the country beyond the group stage.
All the noise about money that has characterised most of Zimbabwe’s participation at the Afcon is absent with players focused on doing their best for their country.
In Egypt, the Warriors had a great opportunity to qualify for the round of 16 but that tournament will be remembered more for the off field distractions which saw Zimbabwe getting hammered 4-0 by the Democratic Republic of Congo, a team they had taken four points from during the qualifiers.
That loss to DRC in their last match saw Zimbabwe finish at the bottom of the log with just a point in what was the country’s worst ever display at the tournament.
The Sports and Recreation Commission (SRC) has played its part by setting a US$1 million budget for the Warriors campaign made up of US$800 000 and ZWL21 000 000 to finance their participation at Afcon, inclusive of appearance and match fees.
As Zimbabweans, we expect no excuses from Knowledge Musona and the rest of the troops as we are told that the players have been paid some of the money from the SRC.
We are behind the boys and we are backing them to do us proud, win or lose, we support our Warriors.
They should not be intimidated by the likes of Mane and Mendy, just like the boys in 2006 were not frightened by Ghana when they slayed the Black Stars 2-1 in Ismailia, Egypt.
Musona and the troops can shut out Mane, breach the Senegalese defence marshalled by Kalidou Koulibaly and score past Mendy, they just have to believe that it can be done.
Coach Norman Mapeza might be missing Nakamba, Munetsi and Billiat but we believe the players he has chosen have what it takes to fly the country’s flag high in Cameroon.
There is no doubt that from tomorrow, Zimbabweans will be glued to their television sets to watch the Warriors do battle at the Afcon. We hope the boys will not disappoint.
We wish the team all the best. We say Go Warriors! Score Warriors!
