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Zifa seeks Warriors opponent

Sport
ZIFA is hoping to take advantage of the Cosafa general assembly in Zambia tomorrow to try and tie down an opponent for a practice match as Zimbabwe bids to rescue a faltering 2014 World Cup campaign.

ZIFA is hoping to take advantage of the Cosafa general assembly in Zambia tomorrow to try and tie down an opponent for a practice match as Zimbabwe bids to rescue a faltering 2014 World Cup campaign.

REPORT BY SPORTS CORRESPONDENT

Members of all football federations in the Cosafa region are set to attend the Cosafa general assembly in Zambia. And with the Africa Cup of Nations finals set to kick off in South Africa in the new year, agents from various countries in the continent seeking to secure training bases for their respective national teams are also expected to attend the Cosafa meeting.

Zifa chief executive Jonathan Mashingaidze said they would take advantage of the Cosafa meeting to secure an opponent for the friendly match.

“We are hopeful to secure a friendly match with one of the West African countries, including Nigeria, at the Cosafa general assembly in Zambia on Saturday. Various teams in the continent are seeking training bases in this region ahead of the African Cup of Nations finals in South Africa. They will be sending their agents to the general assembly and we will take advantage and try to secure a friendly match for the Warriors,” said Mashingaidze.

Zifa have targeted either the Super Eagles of Nigeria or the Blackstars of Ghana for a possible practice match.

Should the friendly match materialise, it will give recently appointed Warriors coach Klaus Dieter Pagels an opportunity to assess his playing personnel as he rebuilds a new-look Warriors squad.

The German has a huge task of assembling a new team following the dissolution of the Warriors by Zifa after the failure by the team to qualify for the continental soccer finals in South Africa.

The Warriors have picked up just one point from their two Group G World Cup qualifiers against Mozambique and Guinea. They next play Egypt away in March next year. The Pharaohs have made a solid start to their World Cup qualifying campaign, beating Mozambique and Guinea in their first two games.

Pagels, however, believes qualification for Brazil is still possible, although his major priority is to assemble a team for future tournaments.