Warriors gaffer Kalisto Pasuwa is expected to finalise his contract deal within the next 48 hours is demanding a long-term contract, amid revelations that Zifa wants to give him the job basing on performance.
By Brian Nkiwane
Pasuwa is on the verge of putting pen to paper after having worked for more than 12 months as Warriors head coach without a contract.
Both Zifa and Pasuwa’s manager Gibson Mahachi have confirmed negotiations between the two parties were going smoothly.
Pasuwa has been in and out of the job, especially during the Cuthbert Dube era because of non-payment of salaries and allowances. A similar scenario nearly recurred two weeks ago when the nation woke up to stunning news that the newly-appointed Zifa board led by businessman Phillip Chiyangwa had fired Pasuwa.
However, Chiyangwa moved with speed to reinstate Pasuwa after the Sport and Recreation minister Makhosini Hlongwane raised the red flag. Speaking on behalf of the Zifa board, Edzai Kasinauyo said after spme considerations they had decided to give Pasuwa a contract based on achieving success in major competitions, in this case looking at the 2017 Afcon qualifiers.
Mahachi yesterday admitted having received the offer from Zifa and said negotiations were going on smoothly, unlike before.
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“We have received the offer from Zifa. After sitting down with my client, we highlighted areas that needed attention. We are in the process, but as I speak, we are almost through,” he said. What is left is for us to take back our counter offer to Zifa and wait to hear from them. But I can tell you, the contract issue will be finalised in the next two days.”
Pressed to reveal details of the negotiations, Mahachi only said the contract had been one of the major obstacles so far.
“After having worked for more than 13 months without a contract and with what he has achieved, I think Zifa should have confidence in my client such that they wouldn’t want to be so cruel as to give him a short contract,” he said. Pasuwa has proved to everyone that he can do the job. At least a contract with a minimum of two years will make all parties happy.”
Kasinauyo said Zifa was happy to give the coach a long-term deal.
“I think it will be very fair for us to do things that way,” he said. We have crafted the contract in such a way that Pasuwa majors with qualifying us to major tournaments, in this case the Afcon 2017. We cannot judge Pasuwa with the African Championship [Chan] finals that are just around the corner, no. He has to take us to Afcon 2017, period.”
He added: “The thing is as Zifa, we have made our offer to Pasuwa and everything has been sent to his manager who said he was still looking at the offer. We are just waiting for their counter offer.”
Meanwhile, Pasuwa has been dealt a heavy blow in his preparations for the Chan finals in Rwanda after skipper Danny “Deco” Phiri finally left camp to recover from a knee injury at home.
“Yes, I can confirm that Deco will not be part of the Chan squad. Doctors looked at him before we left for a short break. What they told me was that it will take time for the skipper to recover. It is indeed a sad development but we have to remain focused,” Pasuwa said. Apart from Deco, Pasuwa also lost Tafadzwa Kutinyu and Hillary Bakacheza through injuries.
“This then means that we have lost three players. The doctor told them to stay at home after the break because all the three will not recover in time,” he said
During training yesterday, Pasuwa took to task every player that showed signs of fatigue due to the short break as the Warriors put final touches to their preparations for the Chan finals in Rwanda in two weeks time.
