Inside Sport with MICHAEL KARIATI
ON September 10, Zimbabwe football fans left the National Sports Stadium shaking their heads in disbelief after being treated to a damp squib by their own beloved Warriors in their 3-1 win over little Somalia.
The thousands of fans who thronged the National Sports Stadium watched a Warriors side that could not string one or two passes together and struggled against a Somali side that they were expected to trample over with a glut of goals.
Even some of the Warriors’ most ardent followers left the stadium debating on whether Joey Antipas was the right man for the coaching job after the team narrowly escaped elimination by the minnows through an injury time goal from Kaizer Chiefs’ Khama Billiat.
Some even vented their anger on the Zimbabwe Football Association (Zifa), accusing them of dictating to the coach whom he should pick to play for the country and whom he should not, something that Zifa have always denied.
This was even made worse by the fact that Zimbabwe had a few days earlier given Somalia their only win in 31 matches after the Warriors were beaten 1-0 in the first leg encounter staged in Djibouti due to the political strife in Somalia.
This also came after the Zimbabweans were hammered 4-0 by the Democratic Republic of Congo at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations finals, which ignited a whole gamut of emotions including anger after the Warriors finished rock-bottom and with only one point in three matches.
The results of that was poor attendance in the game that followed against Somalia as the fans had lost faith in their team, and stayed away, something that the Warriors need to change with a polished performance against Lesotho even though some of the country’s big-name players will not be available.
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The Chan is reserved for players who ply their trade for clubs in their domestic leagues only, and as such, the likes of Billiat, captain Marshal Munetsi and others based outside the country do not qualify to play.
At the moment, the Warriors do not have a sponsor and Zifa derives the players’ bonuses from gate takings and it is important that the Zimbabwe team wins back the fans with a good show ahead of the qualifiers for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations.
This would mean good crowds in the matches to follow, something that would guarantee that the players get their bonuses and allowances immediately after the encounter instead of waiting for months without being paid.
It is a fact that every team gets more spectators whenever they play well and win matches, but lose followers when they do not play good football even if they win games, and the Warriors need to regain the type of play they displayed during the days of the late Reinhard Fabisch to ensure that the National Sports Stadium becomes as full as it used to be during those days. On that premise, it is now up to Antipas and his boys to up the tempo and ensure that fans renew their faith in the Warriors once again after the disastrous spell that began in June at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations finals.
It does not matter that today’s game is not a World Cup or an Africa Cup of Nations tie, what is important is for the Warriors to win not only convincingly, but also in style, and attract the fans to watch the team in their future engagements. Zimbabwe has qualified for four of the five Africa Nations Championships finals since the tournament was introduced in 2009, and it would be a big disappointment if Antipas and his players fail to qualify for next year’s tournament.
Failure to qualify for Chan following the disastrous appearance at Afcon 2019, and the poor performances against Somalia will not do any good to Zimbabwe’s international football reputation. Already, the world rankings are beginning to tell not the best of stories, a direction that Zimbabwean football does not need to take.
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