Let us learn from the past

Sport
THE current tug of war for Warriors caretaker coach Joey Antipas between his club and Zimbabwe Football Association (Zifa) could have been avoided long back had the local football governing body made the right decision — of appointing their own Warriors coach on full time basis.

insidesport:with MICHAEL KARIATI

THE current tug of war for Warriors caretaker coach Joey Antipas between his club and Zimbabwe Football Association (Zifa) could have been avoided long back had the local football governing body made the right decision — of appointing their own Warriors coach on full time basis.

That Antipas is being forced to juggle between two jobs is not healthy for Zimbabwean football as there are times when Mafero is needed most by both — and at the same time — as was the case when the Gamecocks had two Castle Lager Premier Soccer League games against Mushowani Stars and Hwange at a time the Warriors were in camp for the Nations Cup matches against Botswana and Zambia.

From the outset, Chicken Inn might appear happy with the situation but in reality the Gamecocks are not happy at all with their coach missing in action at such a crucial time when his team needs him most.

In fact, one wonders what would have been the reaction of the club had Chicken Inn lost out to Mushowani Stars in Antipas’ absence, and dropped way behind in the race for the championship.

The fact remains that Mafero is employed by the Game Cocks who pay his salary and why should the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League side be disadvantaged in favour of the Warriors?

That Zimbabwean football is in such a situation is a mess that those at the football headquarters of 53 Livingstone Avenue created for themselves. If Zifa really needed Antipas, why didn’t they offer him a full time contract as was the case with Kalisto Pasuwa and Sunday Chidzambga to avoid the problem that is threatening to tear apart the relationship between the club and national football federation?

The problem at Zifa and most other Zimbabwean institutions is that every new leadership that comes into office wants to throw away everything that was done by the previous leadership, even if it proved successful — just to be seen to be bringing in change.

While it was not acceptable for them to follow everything that the Phillip Chiyangwa board did, there were other positives that they brought which Felton Kamambo and company should have adopted not only for the sake of continuity but because it was the right thing to do.

With no money to pay a foreign coach, Zifa should have continued on the solid ground built by the Chiyangwa leadership of appointing a local coach on a full time basis, which brought positive results over the past four years.

That system proved successful when the Chiyangwa board took Kalisto Pasuwa away from Dynamos and later Chidzambga from ZPC Kariba who both took the Warriors to the Africa Cup of Nations finals in succession in Gabon in 2017 and Egypt 2019.

On that premise, if Zifa were really serious and satisfied with Antipas, they should simply have followed that proven practice and offered Antipas a contract, something that would have avoided the problems which have surfaced.

Zifa cannot say they do not have the money to pay their own coach, because the previous Zifa board managed it having initially settled for Norman Mapeza, who also briefly juggled between the Warriors and his former club FC Platinum. From 2016 up to 2019, both Pasuwa and Chidzambga were on Zifa’s payroll and up to now, Chidzambga has not complained that he was not paid his dues.

As we look forward to the future, the fact remains that Antipas has built a good relationship with the players, and bringing in a new coach would disrupt the morale that is in the camp and also mean starting all over again.

Zifa have indicated that Mafero is there on an interim basis but it would be cruel to deny him the chance to travel to Cameroon for the Africa Nations Championships (Chan) after he took the team there with that victory over the Crocodiles of Lesotho.

It should also be placed on record that Antipas has also guided the Warriors to the group stages of the 2022 World Cup even, though, after a struggle against little Somalia, and would love to end the campaign that he started.

More importantly is the fact that it has also been proven that local coaches are the best for Zimbabwean football after Chidzambga took the Warriors to the Afcon finals in 2004, and 2019, Pasuwa in 2017, and Charles Mhlauri in 2006 after a host of foreign handlers had failed to achieve that goal.

However, sticking to Antipas while he is also contracted to Chicken Inn could also have some far reaching repercussions. For example, what happens should the Gamecocks win the Premiership title and qualify to represent Zimbabwe in the Caf Champions League at a time the Warriors have 2021 Africa Cup of Nations and 2022 World Cup engagements?

So, after the game against Zambia on Tuesday, Zifa should make their decision. Either to offer Antipas a full time contract or try someone else when there is still time. This is the time to make that decision instead of waiting a few weeks before Zimbabwe’s next international engagements.

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