Botswana unaware of Warriors friendly

Eddie Chikamhi Senior Sports Reporter

THE Warriors’ proposed friendly match with Botswana at the National Sports Stadium on Saturday is not likely to take place as announced by ZIFA yesterday.

This resulted in the Premier Soccer League calling off Week 27 fixtures that had been set for the weekend.

While ZIFA gave match details for the proposed friendly, their counterparts in Botswana were yesterday only interested in their home clash with Eswatini on Monday.

That Botswana were giving details of Monday’s match, including a 25-man squad, and ignoring a Saturday fixture suggested Zifa might have made premature announcements.

Using their social media handles, the Botswana Football Association also revealed Zebras head coach Mogomotsi ‘Teenage’ Mpote’s 25-man provisional squad for the friendly match against Eswatini at the Lobatse Sports Complex to prepare for the upcoming 2026 World Cup qualifiers.

Reports from the neighbouring country said the Botswana Football Association were not aware of the friendly match with the Warriors as there was no arrangement to that effect.

The BFA chief executive officer, Mfolo Mfolo was blunt when he told Mmegi Sport that there was no such arrangement.

“We do not have any agreement to play Zimbabwe,” he said.

Meanwhile, the ZIFA Normalisation Committee had released a statement yesterday indicating they were making use of the FIFA international break to prepare for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers scheduled to kickstart next month.

“A Warriors squad of made up of both local and foreign-based players is scheduled to play Botswana in an international friendly on Saturday 14 October 2023 at the National Sports Stadium in Harare,” said the statement from ZIFA.

“The match kicks off at 1500 hours. Gate charges are as follows; $5 Rest of the Ground $10 Bay 15-18 $50 VIP. The squad will be publicised once all logistical issues have been finalised.

“Players will start arriving for camp on Wednesday (today). This match is an integral part of the country’s preparations for matchdays 1 and 2 of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers set for November 13 to 21.

“Our first match will be away to Rwanda before we host Nigeria a few days later. Zimbabwe is in Group C with Lesotho, South Africa, Benin, and Nigeria.”

With the players having been expected to start trooping into camp today, the Premier Soccer League yesterday were forced to cancel a full fixture programme that they had arranged for the coming weekend.

Zimbabwe and Botswana enjoy cordial relations and just month the Warriors were invited to Botswana to feature in the country’s 57th Independence Day celebrations. The hosts won the encounter via a penalty shoot-out.

Zimbabwe are in Group C of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers along with Rwanda, Nigeria, South Africa, Benin and Lesotho.

They will face Rwanda in the second week of November, away. But they will not be able to host Nigeria at home because the local stadiums have been condemned by FIFA.

The ZIFA Normalisation Committee is still weighing options between playing in South Africa and Botswana.

Zimbabwe’s World Cup qualifying opponents South Africa and Nigeria are among a host of African countries that will be busy with international friendlies in the coming two weeks.

Bafana Bafana will play Swaziland and Cote d’Ivoire while the Nigerians have friendly dates with Saudi Arabia and Mozambique in Maputo as they prepare for the trip to Zimbabwe.

The Normalisation Committee chairman Lincoln Mutasa was not available for comment last night but ZIFA could still revert to the four team selection tournament that they proposed for the FIFA window to build a competitive squad.

The ZIFA Normalisation Committee wants the new coach Baltemar Brito, who has so far worked with local players in invitational matches against Namibia and Botswana, to have a glimpse of Zimbabwe’s foreign talent before the global qualifiers.

The local football authorities are looking to have four-team event comprising the Northern Region led by Warriors assistant coach Genesis Mangombe, who is also the Dynamos coach, the Southern Region led by former Hwange Coach Bongani Mafu, the Diaspora team made up of foreign-based players and the People’s Choice team that will be voted by football fans. But it is not certain the foreign-based players will be able to come due to communication glitches between the association and the clubs.