BY TERRY MADYAUTA
THE Confederation of African Football (Caf) has releases dates for the resumption of the all qualifiers for the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) Cameroon 2021 and of the Fifa World Cup Qatar 2022.
The continental mother body has set what looks to be a hectic schedule with double-headers which are set to start in November up to November 2021.
Though venues for the matches have not yet been with Caf saying they will be working hand-in-glove with various authorities to determine suitability of hosting before announcing.
The alterations have been inspired by the COVID-19 outbreak which halted global sporting activities.
For the Afcon, the battle for spots at the premier continental showcase, qualifiers are set to resume between November 9-17, 2020.
The penultimate matches for the tourney will take place starting March 22-30, 2021 For the World Cup slated for Qatar, where all participating nations battle for the five slots at the world tourney have been earmarked between May 31 and June 15 for matchday one and two.
The matchday three and four will be played from August 30 until September 7 while the final lap has been fixated 4 and October 12 2021.
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Meanwhile the playoff matches have been scheduled for November 8-16, 2021.
This means the Warriors will face Algeria between November 9 and 17 in the Afcon qualifiers before facing Zambia and Botswana in one window between March 21-30 next year.
Warriors coach Zdracko Logarusic says the dates are reasonable though he admits the senior national team can perform better if given enough time to prepare.
“It’s fair and reasonable, there is also some time between now and November but considering the situation we are in, we hope to get enough time to train and work together before we start playing,” he said.
While home based players are grounded due to government measures to try and stifle the spread of the disease, foreign based players have resumed action.
Midfielder Marshall Munetsi (pictured) who is based in France resumes action this weekend while captain Knowledge Musona’s Belgian league is up and running.
England based players will be back in action next month while Teenage Hadebe based in Turkey will soon be back playing after they finished off what was left of last season following a break.
The South Africa based players are also back in action, but Zambia-based players could be compromised as there is uncertainty over the start of the 2020-21 season.
So far, Zimbabwe has played two games, where they won 2-1 in Zambia and drew nil-all at home with the Zebras of Botswana.
