The Sunday News
IT is a few weeks before the 31st edition of the Africa Cup of Nations kicks off in Gabon, a tournament which will run from 14 January to 5 February.
Zimbabwe will be making their third appearance at the continental showpiece where they participated in 2004 (Tunisia) and Egypt (2006). On both occasions, the Warriors failed to go beyond the group stages, finishing bottom of the log with just three points.
With the way they played in the qualifiers, the Warriors have the ability to go all the way. However, preparations are key to a successful tournament and the kind of matches and camp that the Kalisto Pasuwa-mentored Warriors have will determine how far they go in Gabon.
Early this month, the Young Warriors put up a pathetic show at the Council of Southern African Football Associations Under-20 Youth Championship in North West, South Africa. All the experts who spoke on the Mandla Mpofu-coached lads described them as good players who, however, lacked co-ordination which was clearly caused by lack of camp.
In interviews after the Young Warriors were booted out of the Cosafa Under-20 Youth Championship, Mpofu did point at the fact that they never had enough time to prepare for the competition as they were in camp for just a week during which Cosafa already wanted the final squad of 20 players within three days of getting together. This never gave Mpofu enough time to satisfy himself that he had selected the best squad he could come up with.
Zambian coach Beston Chambeshi said his team had been training together since August and even arrived in South Africa days before the start of the Cosafa Under-20 Youth Championship. Young Chipolopolo beat South Africa 2-1 in the final to claim their eleventh title.
It was a similar story with the Mighty Warriors at the Africa Women’s Championship where they finished bottom of the four team log. The Shadreck Mlauzi-coached women were not that terrible as they put up a gallant show in a 0-0 draw with South Africa. Their lack of preparation showed in their 1-0 loss to Egypt and the 2-0 defeat at the hands of Cameroon.
Before heading off to Cameroon, it was well documented that the Mighty Warriors did not have enough preparations to mount a serious challenge against some of Africa’s powerhouses in women’s football.
Lessons have to be learnt from the Young Warriors’ failure in South Africa and the Mighty Warriors’ shortcomings in Cameroon. Pasuwa must make every day between now and Zimbabwe’s first match against Algeria in Franceville count for something. There is no time to waste, every second, minute and day matters a lot as the Warriors gear up for Gabon.
The Warriors take on Cote d’Ivoire in Abidjan this afternoon as their preparations go a gear up. On 10 January, they have yet another friendly match against Cameroon with another preparatory fixture against the host nation still to be confirmed but is likely to be on 5 January.
Pasuwa does not have much time on his hands and must settle for his final 23-men squad in the coming days as the Confederation of African Football will soon ask for the team to be submitted for accreditation. Today’s fixture should be the last chance for the bulk of the locally-based players to prove to Pasuwa why they should be part of those who will make the journey to the West African country.
One of the country’s leading mobile phone operators NetOne last Wednesday unveiled a $250 000 sponsorship deal for the country’s senior national men’s football team. Among other things, the timely financial injection will ensure the smooth flow of preparations as the Warriors fine tune for their third appearance at the Africa Cup of Nations.
It was disclosed at the sponsorship launch that the deal only covers the Warriors for the Afcon while a long term deal is being explored by the Zimbabwe Football Association and NetOne.
Over the years, Warriors players have complained about not getting any financial rewards for representing their country but with the NetOne financial backing it seems money would not be an issue this time around. With support from NetOne, we can only hope that the Warriors can carry their brilliant form from the qualifiers to Gabon and join South Africa and Zambia as the only southern African nations to be crowned champions of Africa.
The only way the Warriors can go on to claim the most coveted trophy in African football is to adequately prepare for the tournament. What they do between now and 15 January will have a big say on how they perform in Gabon.
We implore everyone involved, the Philip Chiyangwa-led Zifa board, Pasuwa, his technical team and the players to do their utmost best to make the country proud in Gabon. Come 15 January, Zimbabweans will be glued to their television screens in anticipation when the Warriors tackle The Desert Foxes.
With the financial backing we feel the authorities have done their part, what is left is for the technical bench and the players to play ball. However, what is worrying is that it seems up to now the coach and his technical bench are still not sure which players to take to Gabon.
