Today, the Zimbabwe senior soccer team faces Angola in a penultimate 2013 African Cup of Nations final qualifier, first leg match, at Rufaro Stadium in the afternoon.
BY SIMBA RUSHWAYA What makes this match special is the fact that we are playing accustomed opponents Angola and a win will ensure we have one leg in the biannual competition set to be staged just across the Limpopo River in South Africa.
The second leg of the final round will be in Luanda in a fortnight.
The fact that we are playing Angola makes me believe that this is one of the greatest chances to qualify for the finals. We have played our southern African brothers on several occasions and we recognise them in and out.
But I have my reservations.
Like some of the Zimbabweans who share the same sentiments, the build up to this match has been cluttered, to say the least.
I was not particularly impressed by the fact that most of our players arrived in camp late for this critical match while our rivals trained as a unit in South Africa for the whole week. I just didn’t like this lackadaisical approach in the face of an important battle.
An important player like Knowledge Musona left it late to tell the nation that he was injured and is holed up in Germany while national duty beckons.
- Chamisa under fire over US$120K donation
- Mavhunga puts DeMbare into Chibuku quarterfinals
- Pension funds bet on Cabora Bassa oilfields
- Councils defy govt fire tender directive
Keep Reading
Again, I was not impressed that the entire Zimbabwe Football Association (Zifa) hierarchy was in Seychelles for the Confederation of African Football (CAF) congress while preparations for this decisive match were being handled by junior staff at 53 Livingstone Avenue.
Head of secretariat, Jonathan Mashingaidze chose to go to the Seychelles where they got daily allowances, neglecting this important assignment.
I’m of the firm belief he was supposed to stay at home and lead from the front on logistics.
Mashingaidze, who announced that this match would cost an ordinary Zimbabwean a massive US$10, would have known that the gate charges were inhibitive. Warriors coach Rahman Gumbo, who blasted the charges in our sister paper The Independent, could have addressed this issue using a better platform but he had no one to tell his concerns. They were all enjoying the beauty of Seychelles, a country known for its flora and fauna and an archipelago of 115 islands.
In his own words, Gumbo said: “The late arrival of players is an issue to do with Zifa, and it’s something that we have to talk about. The problem is there is nobody around so I can only wait and will comment after discussions with the relevant authorities,” Gumbo said.
I’m also not excited that the monster called Asiagate, which will today deny us some of our best talent to compete against Angola. I’m talking of players like Nyasha Mushekwi and Edward Sadomba who are scoring regularly for their teams.
This scandal has dragged for far too long and it has adversely affected our players’ performance. Just this week, the Warriors went into hiding training at some obscure tvenues because they are under 24-hour surveillance for fear of mixing with match fixers. God help us!
While these players think they are coming home to parade their skills, they are instead placed under “house arrest” because of sheer paranoia by their leaders. This phase must surely pass.
