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Ngqwele Dube, Sports Correspondent
THE Footballers Union of Zimbabwe has called for the cancellation of national senior men’s team friendly against Malawi on Sunday arguing that it poses serious injury threat to players.
Fuz expressed concern over the failure to adhere to Return to Play protocols that require players to have a preseason training programme of between six and eight weeks before resuming play.
In a statement Fuz said the game should be cancelled to protect players’ health.
“As Fuz we wish to make an appeal to the authorities to cancel this game for the goodness of our players and find another solution which does not leave our members susceptible to health problems.
“The low levels of preparedness by the association in relation to this match thus leaves our players at high risk of injuries, fatigue and other career threatening problems,” read the statement posted on Fuz’s Facebook page.
“The health and safety of players is not negotiable. According to the return to play protocols in normal football settings players need a full pre-season training program which is about 6-8 weeks and for those whose leagues have resumed at least three weeks of high intensity group training is required before resuming play so that players retrain optimally football specific endurance, speed, strength and coordination.”
“Thus, the duration, frequency and intensity of training sessions should gradually increase, considering the potential temporary immune system depression within the Covid-19 emergency period.”
Warriors coach, Zdravko Logarušic was forced to call up local players who have not been in action this whole year after several international clubs refused to release their players.
Fuz said players carry the greatest risk and social cost in the context of return to play scenarios.
The player representative body said high performance sports and intensified workload require a maximum amount of sport specific training and medical assistance which is unlikely to be offered in this case and the absence of any insurance plan makes it even worse.
“We have noted with great concern that Zifa has made arrangements for the team to travel by bus or air for a distance which is more than 600 kms one way, it should be noted that for the local based players they have not trained for more than eight months and the foreign based have travelled long distances only to be subjected to more traveling.
“All kinds of travel can take a toll on health for reasons ranging from dehydration to exhaustion which can contribute to decreased performance, players accuracy and reaction time and increased chances of making errors that can cause injuries to them,” read the statement.
Bongani Ndlovu