Hope Chizuzu, Sports Reporter
HARARE – The Warriors who became the third country to arrive in Cameroon ahead of the opening match on January 9, will today engage Sudan, who themselves were the second team to arrive in the country.
The friendly match to be played at Rain Forest International School football field (an American school) at 1600hrs will give us a hint of what the coach intends to do with the team.
He is still to have the captain Knowledge Musona and the Euro based players, who are expected on Wednesday.
Zimbabwe open the account against Senegal next Monday, a day after the opening match.
The Warriors have been training at the Presidential Guard Sports Complex in the capital while staying at the beautiful Franco hotel.
Team manager, Wellington Mpandare said that the morale in camp is very high and the players are all geared up for the tournament where they are determined to do well.
“The training has been going on well with double sessions to put the guys into the groove and load them appropriately. The boys are happy and reckon they have been having some of their best preparations in a long time.
“It has been pretty flawless, from the organisation, security, logistics and technical. We are very grateful for the way we have been looked after and the SRC have been on the pulse, asking of us to remain focused on the task ahead.
“We can only promise to do well because the support has been tremendous. I wish to mention that as Warriors, everything has worked well and we do not have complaints,” said Mpandare from his Cameroon base.
Meanwhile the majority of the fans and stakeholders have been worried sick over the FIFA threat to suspend Zimbabwe, a move that could see the team ejected from the tournament.
The Page, however, has it on good authority that Zimbabwe national team WILL NOT be affected in any way despite the fact that the SRC have remained resolute on the suspension of the corrupt Zifa executive committee.
Fifa, have in the intervening period, learnt of some of the gory activities by the Failton Kamambo led executive and will need more time to investigate the Zifa, before acting.
The SRC have maintained that Fifa have not formally communicated with them the threat of ban, which was contained in a letter addressed to the suspended ZIFA CEO, Joseph Mamutse, who could be arrested anytime soon for continuing to abuse Zifa office, receiving and sending communication when he is on suspension.
Mamutse, using the technical director Wilson Mutekede, who is ironically in Cameroon at the moment, has been sending public communication, signing off as “by order of the board”, even though there is no such thing as a board in the Zifa constitution and operations.
The communication has been causing public despondence and worry. Even the government was worried with such communication.
The SRC must be applauded for making sure the team is ready for AFCON 2021 and have determined that they will lack nothing.
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