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Foreign coach recommended for Warriors

Sport
THE Zifa High Performance Technical Committee has recommended the recruitment of a foreign coach to take charge of the Warriors.

THE Zifa High Performance Technical Committee has recommended the recruitment of a foreign coach to take charge of the Warriors.

REPORT BY TAWANDA TAFIRENYIKA SPORTS CORRESPONDENT

This follows Zimbabwe’s double failure to qualify for the 2012 and 2013 African Cup of Nations (Afcon) finals.

An informed source close to Zifa said the high performance technical team, after conducting an in-depth analysis of the report submitted to them by coach Rahman Gumbo on the doomed 2013 campaign at the request of Zifa, concluded that the Warriors needed an experienced foreign coach if they are to join the big boys at either the Afcon or World Cup table.

The committee, according to the source, also failed to find an answer on who had called up more players which ended with the number of those in camp ahead of the Angola tie swelling to 30.

It is said Gumbo maintained he did not call up the other players who were later included after they were cleared of Asiagate match-fixing.

Zifa are also said to have distanced themselves from the call-up of the players.

The high performance technical team also raised concern over the behaviour of the players while in camp and questioned the role of team manager Nyika Chifamba.

The high performance technical team includes Zifa board member for competitions Benedict Moyo, technical advisor Dieter Klaus-Pagels, technical director Nelson Matongorere, Gibson Homela, Cosmas Zulu, Bheki Nyoni and Aces Academy director Mark Duvillard.

“The high performance technical committee has recommended the recruitment of a foreign coach. They believe that is the best way to take our game forward. There was consensus on this and it’s now up to Zifa.

“We don’t know how they will deal with it because there is also a small problem in that Rahman had signed a two-year contract on his appointment after taking over from Norman Mapeza. But the bottom line is that the committee said Zimbabwe needed a foreign coach, either an African or European coach,” said the source.

Zifa are set to hold a general assembly meeting on Thursday to ratify the recommendations by the high performance technical committee.

The Warriors squandered a healthy 3-1 lead in the first leg in Harare to lose 0-2 to hosts Angola and crash out of the continental soccer showpiece in South Africa next year in January.

Zifa are also expected to discuss the Asiagate match-fixing scandal with more names of players to receive sanctions ranging from five-year bans and less expected to be announced.

The dissolution of the Warriors following the Angola debacle is also set to be discussed with some players likely to be recalled to form a new-look Warriors squad.