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Tadious Manyepo
Sports Reporter
ZIFA leaders are struggling to find common ground over the appointment of the Warriors coach amid revelations that a bid to bring back Baltermar Brito has gathered momentum with one faction of the Normalisation Committee.
The Warriors will resume their Group C qualifying campaign with a clash against Lesotho at Orlando stadium in Johannesburg.
They will then face South Africa at Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein, four days later.
Under Lincoln Mutasa, the Warriors have had arguably their worst preparations to a World Cup qualifier with no clarity as to who is selecting the players and who will be in charge when the team takes to the field at Orlando Stadium.
Mutasa returned from a FIFA meeting in Thailand over the weekend to chair the latest in a series of meetings yesterday, which the Normalisation Committee has been holding to try and find common ground on the choice of coach to settle for.
But as has often been the case with Mutasa’s ZIFA, they have decided against any media updates on the developments around the Warriors and other national teams.
Zimpapers Sport, however, has it on good authority that there are now strong chances that ex-Highlanders’ coach Brito, who re-applied for the job, has emerged the front runner.
It is understood that FIFA officials had recommended that ZIFA re-engage Brito for continuity but the Normalisation Committee appears to have their own issues with the Brazilian.
Zimpapers Sport understands that Brito’s frank reports, after the two games in Rwanda where the camp was rocked with industrial action by players, are being seen as “just too honest’’.
A source close to ZIFA revealed yesterday that they had also toyed with the idea of re-engaging Chicken Inn’s Joey Antipas for the Warriors post.
“Brito is by some distance the favourite to take the seat but as it stands, members of the ZIFA NC should iron out issues to do with him,” said the source.
Charles Mhlauri has also come into the picture but could not be reached for comment.
Online Reporter