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Bruce Chikuni-Sports Reporter
FORMER AFCON winner Winfried Schafer has applied for the Warriors coaching job that was advertised by the ZIFA Normalisation Committee last week.
A ZIFA insider told Zimpapers Sports Hub that the 74-year-old German coach was among the candidates who had submitted their applications at the close of the deadline on Sunday.
The ZIFA Normalisation Committee are racing against time to appoint a coach to lead the Warriors in the back-to-back 2026 World Cup qualifier fixtures scheduled for South Africa early next month.
Zimbabwe are expected to host Lesotho at Orlando Stadium in Johannesburg on June 7.
They will then play Bafana Bafana four days later at Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein.
The ZIFA Normalisation Committee, with the influence of the technical director Jethro Hunidzarira, is said to have started to draw up a shortlist of potential candidates to replace Norman Mapeza who was holding the fort on an interim basis. The Warriors have not had a substantive coach since 2021.
“We are still receiving CVs from all corners of the world but there haven’t been big names to talk about.
“We only have average coaches at our disposal and Schafer is the only notable name from the list that we have,” said an official from ZIFA.
Schafer, who began his coaching career in 1982, left his footprint in African football after powering Cameroon to their fourth AFCON crown in 2002, just a year after his appointment.
During his union with the Indomitable Lions, he presided over 33 fixtures, won 14, drew 11, and lost eight times.
He also endured an average spell with Thailand where he won 16 assignments from the available 28 and drew six.
Jamaica was his last national team stop. He took charge of the Reggae Boys from 2013 to 2026, winning 14 times in 41 attempts.
Before his transition to become a coach, he played 403 times in Germany’s top tier for different teams where he also won the Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal twice.
The ZIFA source said interviews will be held in the coming days. He also hinted at their plan to involve South Africa-based players in the Warriors squad.
There has been a sharp decrease in the number of Zimbabweans who are making the grade in South Africa’s Premiership.
He argued that including players based in the hosting country would help the Warriors’ cause as they are familiar with Lesotho and South African tactics.
Devine Lunga of Mamelodi Sundowns, SuperSport United quartet of Terrence Dzvukamanja, Onismor Bhasera, Washington Arubi, and Ronald Pfumbidzai are some of the high-profile players who might be considered.
Striker Douglas Mapfumo (23) of Polokwane City is also expected to be given a chance to prove his worth.
Mapfumo has netted five times this season and he is the youngest Zimbabwean player in the DSTV Premiership.
Peter Tanyanyiwa
Online Reporter