WARRIORS coach Kalisto Pasuwa has rejected the $3 000 monthly salary tabled by Zifa, demanding to be paid $7 000 per month as the contract negotiations drag on.
BY TAWANDA TAFIRENYIKA
Zifa has also set a target of winning the African Nations Championship (Chan) tournament for the coach as well as qualification for the 2017 African Cup of Nations.
Pasuwa’s manager Gibson Mahachi declined to discuss figures, but described the salary offered by the soccer controlling body as “unreasonable” and even below what other coaches in the Premiership were getting.
Mahachi said they had met with Edzai Kasinauyo (Zifa board member development) and tabled their demands .
“I can’t mention the figures, but the salary they are offering is below what other coaches in the Premiership are earning and this being a national job. I think he deserves a better salary,” Mahachi said.
“We met with Kasinauyo and tabled our demands. Pasuwa has done well in the past year under very difficult circumstances. He qualified for the All-Africa Games and Chan under very difficult circumstances. He also won 2-1 against Malawi and drew 1-1 against Guinea in the 2017 African Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifiers, but he gets such an unattractive contract,” Mahachi said.
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Mahachi also said the targets by Zifa were unrealistic, given that the team had not prepared adequately for the Chan tournament to be held in Rwanda next week.
Zifa has not managed to arrange an international friendly match for the Warriors ahead of the tournament.
Proposed friendly matches against Cameroon and Mozambique have failed to materialise, meaning the Warriors could go to the Chan tournament without a match practice, which could have given the coach an opportunity to gauge his team’s strength and weaknesses.
“Their targets are not realistic because they have not arranged any friendly match for the team. The preparations have also been disrupted and there is a lot of some catch-up to do already,” Mahachi said.
The Warriors lost a week’s training after Pasuwa was fired from his job, before he was reinstated following a public outcry.
Kasinauyo yesterday said negotiations were still on-going and he would comment after finalising the contract issue with the coach.
Last night, Pasuwa’s camp and Zifa were locked in a meeting as they sought to find common ground.
There is a feeling though from Pasuwa’s handlers that the reluctance by Zifa, who continue to dilly-dally on the coach’s contract, was a sign that they didn’t want the coach and had someone else in their plans.
Reports suggest that Zifa wants a performance-based contract that takes into account the upcoming African Nations Championship (Chan) tournament, while Pasuwa is pressing for a minimum of two years.
The FA also wants Pasuwa’s future to be determined by the 2017 Afcon qualifiers, where failure to qualify would spell the end of his tenure.
The Warriors are set to leave for Rwanda on Friday.
They are in Group D alongside Zambia, Mali and Uganda. They kick off the campaign with a date against Zambia on January 19.
