The first leg of the first round will be played at Barbourfields in Bulawayo with the return leg set for Botswana after a fortnight.
The former FC Platinum coach is one of the major beneficiaries of the national soccer team changes that were effected by Zifa recently. The changes also saw former Warriors midfielder Rahman Gumbo taking over the reins from Norman Mapeza as Warriors coach while Peter Ndlovu was appointed Under-23 coach as well as second assistant to Gumbo.
Tapera, who guided the Zvishavane-based side into the premiership, took over from Taurai Mangwiro. He is being assisted by Gunners coach George Madira and Labani Kandi.
The Young Warriors started their training on Wednesday at ZB Bank Sports Club under the watchful eyes of Tapera and the rest of his lieutenants.Speaking to Standardsport this week, Tapera said they had more than 40 players who reported for camp and they were still waiting for more players from which they would select the final squad.
“We had 40 players that reported for training on the first two days, but from the 40, we selected 14 players that are going to travel to Bulawayo tomorrow (Friday),” Tapera said.
Tapera added that they were looking forward to be joined by four players from Bantu Rovers who had been out of the country on tour in the United States.
“We are going to be joined by four players that have been in the States with Bantu Rovers while Dynamos and Highfield United were still to release three players each whom we have identified.”
The soft-spoken coach said he could not accommodate foreign-based players because of the limited time.“We cannot afford to waste time calling foreign-based youngsters. What we only need to do is get organised and use talent that is available to us,” he said.
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Tapera and his assistants conducted trials for their team in almost all the provinces coming up with a pool of junior players.“We have been dealing with provinces rather than clubs. It was going to give us a lot of problems if we had done this selection by involving clubs,” he added.
The technical team will use a friendly match against Highlanders reserves today to fine-tune their preparations.
The winner between Zimbabwe and Botswana will face Angola in July in the second round of the competition. The second round winner will then meet another winner from other groups in the third round of the competition to qualify for the championships. The dates for the third round are yet to be released.
The CAF Under-20 Youth Championship will be hosted by Algeria in April next year.
Team Goalkeepers: Rodrick Madzongwe, Tonderai MateyaungwaDefenders: Elvis Moyo, Calvin Moyo, Admire Dzumbunu, Liberty Chakoroma, Vincent Mbira, Nqobizitha Masuku, Lawrence Mhlanga, Willard KalongodaMidfielders: Farai Madora, Edmore Tsoro, Tatenda Dzumbunu, Munya Chiwara, Tino Muswe, Chrispen Ncube, Kudakwashe Mahachi, Elton DzinondiroStrikers: Mike Ngwenya, Farai Mupasiri, Pritchard Mgcini, Tatenda Munapi
