The Sunday News
Mehluli Sibanda, Senior Sports Reporter
NINE national senior men’s team players in camp for the African Nations Championship (Chan) in Cameroon have tested positive for the coronavirus, which has seen the Zimbabwe Football Association temporarily suspend training sessions.
In a statement relased on Tuesday, Zifa said all players part of the draft squad of 23 underwent Covid-19 tests when they got back into camp in Harare on Monday, with nine of them testing positive for the respiratory disease.
“The Zimbabwe Football Association (Zifa) would like to inform the football fraternity and the nation at large that nine (9) players who are part of the African Nations Championship (Chan) provisional squad have tested positive to covid-19. In adherence to our Covid-19 medical protocols, all players and members of the technical team were tested on Monday (28 December 2020) upon their return from festive break and the nine were ruled to have tested positive,’’ said Zifa.
All the affected players have been notified and quarantined in line with World Health organisation (WHO) dictates. The players have also been advised to inform their families and contacts.
Zifa have since informed the relevant stakeholders, temporarily put on hold fine tuning sessions while they consult with concerned parties.
“The Zimbabwe Football Association has also informed the Confederation of African Football (Caf), Sport and Recreation Commission (SRC) and the City Health Department for further guidance. Meanwhile, Zifa has temporarily suspended all training sessions for the CHAN team pending consultation with other stakeholders, but the team remains in camp until further notice,’’ Zifa said.
Zimbabwe are preparing for a tournament in which they will face Cameroon, Burkina Faso and Mali. The Warriors square off with the Indomitable Lions in the tournament opener on 16 January. @Mdawini_29
