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IT has been a rare and refreshing week for Zimbabwean sport, with two of the country’s top football and rugby players featuring prominently on the transfer market for their respective disciplines.
Zimbabwe senior soccer team midfielder and vice captain Marshall Munetsi surprised many, including the Warriors faithful, when he sealed an international transfer deadline day switch from French Ligue 1 club Stade Reims to English Premiership side Wolverhampton Wanderers.
By his own admission, Munetsi, fulfilled a career dream by making his move to Wolves and making the club’s fabled stadium – Molineux home.
Zimbabweans have watched few of their countrymen in the English Premier League lately and with national captain Marvelous Nakamba’s Kuton Town having been relegated, fans will be excited to see the 28-year-old Munetsi in action in what is regarded the world’s best football league.
Munetsi could be in action as soon as Wednesday when Wolves face current log leaders Liverpool.
But more importantly for Zimbabwe is to have as many of our players playing in the elite leagues as possible.
There is no doubting that the experience and the competitive edge that one gets from playing in the English Premiership will have a rub-on effect on his Warriors teammates.
In fact, we believe that Munetsi’s dream move should also spur on the newly-elected ZIFA board to quickly review their development programmes and ensure the country produces more talented players capable of playing in the world’s top leagues.
Previous ZIFA boards somehow always shunned junior football, to the extent of even withdrawing the youth teams from the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and COSAFA competitions.
The negative results have been there for all to see with the number of players leaving the domestic league for the South African Premiership and to Europe dwindling over the years.
Yet we, no doubt need more players playing in the world’s best leagues which include the English Premiership, the German Bundesliga, Spanish LaLiga, Italian Serie A and the French top-flight.
The more players the country has in the top professional leagues, the greater the chances the Warriors have of not only lifting the Africa Cup of Nations but also securing qualification to the World Cup.
While the Warriors have been to the AFCON on five occasions, it has been evident that they came short on quality when compared to such countries like Cote d’Ivoire, Nigeria, Cameroon, Morocco, Ghana, Senegal and Tunisia, who have featured regularly at the World Cup.
Thus, Munetsi’s transfer to a more challenging league should also be sweet news for Warriors coach Michael Nees in the year that he will guide Zimbabwe at the AFCON tournament in Morocco in December.
While ZIFA, who should embrace and acknowledge the hard work being done by the top local academies, look to revive the development programmes and come up with new strategies, for the elite level, Nees has had to rely more on talent that is being fine-tuned in leagues such as Munetsi’s English Premiership and Jordan Zemura’s Serie A.
Munetsi’s move has also given hope that there will be a Zimbabwean name when the next transfer window opens.
In the same vein that the football fraternity has been celebrating Munetsi’s move, it is all smiles in the closely knit rugby family.
This comes as senior national rugby team tight head prop Cleopas Kundiona also made a switch from a French league to England.
While Kundiona is naturally excited about the future after sealing a move to reigning English Rugby champions, Northampton Saints, his move also comes as a boost for the Zimbabwe team.
The 26-year-old prop who has spent the last three years in the French Pro D2 with USON Nevers after joining them from third-tier side SO Chambéry, will be a key member of the Zimbabwe Sables.
Kundiona, has previously had a two-year stint at South African giants Sharks but is now set to make the biggest move of his career by joining Northampton at the end of the current season.
His move comes in a crucial year for Zimbabwe rugby.
The Sables will be one of eight teams battling for the sole ticket to the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia.
Although they are the defending African Champions, the Sables must retain the Africa Cup as only the winners of that silverware will get automatic qualification.
This is why having players like Kundiona being signed by the top professional clubs, augurs well for national coach Piet Benade and his troops.
Zimbabwe has the pedigree to end a three-decade wait to qualify for the World Cup and those hopes can only be turned into reality if more and more of the country’s rugby players are in competing in the top echelons of the game.
Online Reporter