Online Reporter
The 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, which concludes this Sunday, has not produced many fireworks on the field of play with drama happening after the final whistle especially during the knockout stages.
Having the host country lasting the entire tournament is a dream come true for the organisers and on Sunday, the continent will be split between Morocco and former champions, Senegal for the winners.
The tournament has once again delivered a masterclass in what separates nations that merely participate from those that compete with conviction.
Our Warriors disappointed by scrambling just one point from a possible nine after losing against Egypt and South Africa and drawing against Angola.
They finished bottom of their group and it meant that Zimbabwe failed to go beyond the opening round again.
The Warriors have not lasted beyond the opening week on all the occasions they have been to the AFCON finals starting with the historic 2004 tournament held in Tunisia.
For Zimbabwe, the tournament offers a mirror. And the reflection is uncomfortable. Yet it is also instructive. AFCON 2025 has shown, with striking clarity, that our football stagnation is not a mystery. It is the predictable outcome of choices we keep making, and the ones we keep avoiding.
Three themes stand out: the role of coaching, the politics of player selection, and the broader football ecosystem that either empowers or undermines both.
On a positive note, the new Zifa leadership seems keen to address all the shortcomings that have been exposed, and we hope they will be identifying the weaknesses of the 2025 AFCON finals.
The tournament has once again demonstrated that success is not determined by the passport of the coach but by the philosophy of the football association that hires them. Several teams with foreign coaches have flourished but so have teams led by locals who understand their football culture intimately.
Actually, all four teams in the semi-finals had local, African coaches.
What separates the successful sides is not nationality—it is clarity of mandate, long‑term planning, and institutional support.
Local coaches thrive when trusted. Several nations have reached the knockout stages with local coaches who were empowered to build squads based on merit. Their success is rooted in cultural fluency and the ability to connect with players beyond tactics.
Another lesson is that short‑term appointments fail—always.
AFCON 2025 has exposed the futility of parachuting a coach into a crisis and expecting miracles. Continuity is the real currency of progress.
One of the clearest lessons from this tournament is that teams that select players on merit—not reputation, not politics, not club allegiance—are the ones that progress.
The modern AFCON is fast, tactical, and unforgiving. Coaches who cling to ageing stars or favouritism are punished brutally.
Key lessons from AFCON 2025 squads are that teams that integrated young, hungry players have shown greater intensity and adaptability.
Also, successful teams have blended local talent with diaspora stars through structured scouting and early engagement, not last‑minute invitations.
AFCON 2025 has shown that the teams that succeed are those that treat selection as a strategic process, not a ceremonial one and Zimbabwe must embrace a new principle that the national team is not a retirement home, a reward, or a favour.
It is a competitive space.
Monday marks the beginning of a new era and we trust that the Zifa leadership has been taking notes and are ready to embark on a new journey that will see the Warriors go beyond the opening round at AFCON.
