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THE FIFA suspension dragged our football a significant step backwards.
It’s an open secret that our national game was on a growth trajectory by the time that the world football governing body slapped us with their suspension after the Sports Commission intervened and suspended the ZIFA board led by Felton Kamambo.
We had qualified and played at the AFCON finals for three consecutive editions, for the first time in our history.
We were the only Southern African representatives at the 2017 AFCON finals and that alone showed that we were on the right path as a nation.
We had no fear whatsoever, even against the top teams on the continent, and we held the Algerians, with Riyad Mahrez at his peak, to a draw at the 2017 Nations Cup finals.
We beat Guinea, whose midfield was being powered by the then Liverpool star Naby Keita, in our final game at the 2021 Nations Cup finals.
But, the FIFA suspension derailed that progress and we missed the last Nations Cup finals after we were barred from playing in the qualifiers.
However, since our re-admission, we have been showing that we have recovered from the effects of that ban and the Warriors, who are our flagship team, have impressed in the 2025 Nations Cup qualifiers.
We find ourselves sitting in second place in our group, two points behind leaders Cameroon, knowing that if we pick any point, in our next battle against Kenya, we will qualify for the 2025 AFCON finals in Morocco.
Michael Nees, our new German coach who has been in charge of the team in these qualifiers, has started very well and the Warriors, who have struggled to beat Namibia in the past, beat the Brave Warriors in back-to-back games recently.
That the Warriors have been doing all this, without getting the privilege of playing their home matches in their backyard, shows us that our boys are doing very well.
What even charms us more is that we seem to have stepped onto a gold field of football talent with many talented young players showing they can represent our country and make all of us feel proud.
We didn’t even have midfielder Tawanda Chirewa, who is widely regarded as the finest of the gems which have emerged on the scene in recent times, for the two games against Namibia.
Then, when we bring the young Tawanda Maswanhise, who has been given a new deal at his Scottish side Motherwell, one can tell that we really have some gems who will make a difference for our team.
We have even forgotten that Bill Antonio, who was getting rave reviews in Belgium with his excellent performances, has also not been featuring for our Warriors because of injury. That is a good core of young players and they are not the only ones.
We have a very good base of players and, it appears, we have found a coach who can turn our Warriors into a team that will punch according to our expectations.
Online Reporter