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Mehluli Sibanda, Senior Sports Reporter
THE Zimbabwe Under-17 national football team arrived in the country on Monday from South after being disqualified from the Cosafa Under-17 Men’s Championship.
Zimbabwe had started off the tournament on a bright note when they drew 1-1 with Angola. That was the only piece of action for the Tafadzwa Mashiri coached lads. Devastating news came on Friday that Zimbabwe, together with Botswana, Comoros and Eswatini had been expelled from the regional competition on the basis of fielding over-age players.
The quartet all had at least one player fail their magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans that were conducted in South Africa prior to the start of the competition.
After the disqualification, the Zimbabwe Football Association challenged Cosafa to name the Zimbabwean player said to be over age. Zifa were adamant that they had not knowingly broken he rules of the Under-17 competition since the youngsters who went to South Africa were tested at a reputable MRI facility in Harare and the centre used a fairly powerful machine, with the results also reviewed by a specialist radiologist.
However, Cosafa informed Zifa that without any communication from the confederation of African Football, the Zimbabwean lads had to find their way home.
While the boys have returned home, Zifa said this does not mean that they have abandoned the appeal against disqualification, but took the decision for the boys to return home to avoid further straining the committed and innocent Young Warriors whose premature exit they said was disappointing and questionable.
The ongoing tournament also serves as the qualifiers for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations finals.
@Mdawini_29
Online Reporter