SAUL Chaminuka is likely to take charge of the Zimbabwe Under-23 African Championships first leg football match against Swaziland
due to a clash of dates with the Cosafa Cup where head coach Kalisto Pasuwa will be in charge in South Africa. Chaminuka is Pasuwa’s first assistant coach in the technical team that also has Hwange coach Nation Dube and goalkeepers’ trainer Tembo Chuma.
BY WELLINGTON TONI/ TAWANDA TAFIRENYIKA
The Under-23 side faces Swaziland on the weekend of May 22-24 in Harare — the same weekend that Zimbabwe will be playing Namibia in their second match of the Cosafa Cup on May 21 in Moruleng, South Africa.
Zimbabwe are in Group A of the Cosafa championships alongside Namibia and the Seychelles. Zimbabwe will open their campaign against Mauritius on May 17 before facing Namibia four days later.
The Young Warriors will then make the return trip to Swaziland on the weekend of May 29-31 and should the Warriors reach the Cosafa Cup final, it means Pasuwa will not be available for the two Under-23 matches.
The winner of the two-legged tie will face South Africa with winners from that encounter qualifying for the finals to be held in Senegal after original hosts, the Democratic Republic of Congo, withdrew to focus on preparations for that country’s elections.
The winners in the qualifying round match against South Africa were supposed to meet Senegal in the last qualifying round, but as hosts, Senegal are no longer participating in the qualifiers.
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The top three teams at the finals in Senegal will automatically qualify for the 2016 Olympics to be held in Brazil, while the fourth-placed team will be involved in a play-off against an Asian team.
Given such a scenario, Zimbabwe have to raise two teams and two technical teams. The team at the Cosafa Cup will have a sprinkling of foreign players as this will also serve as preparations for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers that will kick off in June.
Zifa spokesperson Xolisani Gwesela said yesterday, the association would make a decision today on the appointment of another coach, but chances of fidgeting with the current set-up are minimal.
Sources told NewsDay Sport yesterday: “The Under-23 side has a highly qualified bench and I am sure one of the assistant coaches can handle the match against Swaziland. It is a very important match for us because if we make it to Senegal, then we will be fighting for an Olympic place.
“We don’t want to bring in new faces at this stage as there is a good working relationship between the technical team and the players from the matches played against Cameroon. We want to maintain that bond because it has given us results.
“But again, the powers-that-be will make the final decision,” the source said yesterday.
Zimbabwe beat Cameroon 2-1 on aggregate in the All-Africa Games qualifiers after winning 1-0 at home and managing a 1-1 away draw two weeks ago to qualify for the finals that will be staged in Congo-Brazzaville in September.
For the Cosafa Cup, Pasuwa has the chance to get some of the international players as the South Africa and European leagues would have ended by then.
Some of the players that the history-making Dynamos legend is angling for from SA include Cuthbert Malajila, Khama Billiat and Kuda Mahachi from Mamelodi Sundowns, Willard Katsande and Mathew Rusike from Kaizer Chiefs, Washington Arubi, Denver Mukamba and Patson Jaure from AmaTuks. There are only four league matches to play before the end of the South African Premiership. From Sweden Nyasha Mushekwi is in good form after resurrecting his career at top-flight side Djurgården and could receive a surprise call-up.
