Online Reporter
Eddie Chikamhi
Zimpapers Sports Hub
THE Government has thrown its full weight behind ZIFA’s staging of a flawless TotalEnergies CAF Under-17 Africa Cup of Nations/COSAFA Qualifier setting the stage for coach Thulani Sibanda’s Young Warriors to excel on home soil.
The tournament is scheduled to run from September 11-20 with The Heart (Harare) and Ngoni (Norton) stadiums in Harare being the venues for the regional tourney where three teams are expected to advance to the CAF Under-17 Africa Cup of Nations.
And as they intensified their preparations under the watchful eye of coach Sibanda, the Young Warriors yesterday receive a massive morale boost with the Minister of Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culture Anselem Sanyatwe and his deputy Emily Jesaya visited their training camp at Eaglesvale School.
ZIFA president Nqobile Magwizi and the association’s chief executive, Yvone Manwa, were also present during the Minister’s timely visit to the next generation of Warriors.
Sanyatwe pledged Government’s support for ZIFA to deliver a flawless event when the country hosts the youth football jamboree.
The minister, who watched the Young Warriors’ afternoon training session, told journalists that the country was ready to host the 11 visiting nations.
“We should give them the highest standard of hospitality. We are known as Zimbabwe to receive, look after and also send off our guests.
“But I do promise them that all has been put in place, arrangements, co-ordination, liaison with the stakeholders are and is going on to ensure that we look after all the teams that are coming,” Sanyatwe said.
“And I am reliably informed that we will have about 11 teams coming to participate from the region. From the office this morning, I was being briefed by the chairman of ZIFA (Magwizi) that all is in place.”
Zimbabwe, who are hosting the event for the first time, will be joined at the tournament by Mozambique, Comoros, Eswatini, Zambia, South Africa, Madagascar, Malawi, Angola, Botswana, Mauritius and Lesotho.
The teams are expected to start arriving for the tournament this Saturday to acclimatise to the Zimbabwean conditions, ahead of kick-off next Tuesday.
Sanyatwe said he had to visit the Young Warriors in person to see their state of preparedness and get an insight on the welfare of the players in camp.
He met the players and had one-on-one conversations with them, encouraging them to focus on the job at hand.
“And my coming here is for me to certify myself and check for myself other than receiving reports on the state of preparedness of our team, the Under-17.
“I have checked with the boys, they are quite happy with their meals, everything, accommodation, you name it. And so, we have no reason for them to fail to make the nation proud,” said Sanyatwe.
He also challenged the Young Warriors to emulate the Zimbabwe rugby team which recently won the Africa Cup and qualified for the 2027 World Cup in Australia.
The COSAFA Under-17 is also a qualification pathway to the CAF Under-17 AFCON and later on to the FIFA Under-17 World Cup.
“I personally met with them, talked to the young boys and hopefully we have all the reason to promise the nation that the boys are going to perform to our expectations and do like what our rugby team did in Uganda.
“So, basically for now, being my first time to see them preparing themselves and practising, I am very confident that we should be able to make it as a nation,” said Sanyatwe.
Magwizi, who was accompanied by and new technical director, Dominique Niyonzima, was encouraged by the Government’s commitment.
“It was very important for the minister to see for himself that indeed there is an Under 17 squad in camp going through their paces and of course getting ready for the tournament which will start in earnest.
“Obviously we have our local organising committee which is chaired by one of our executive committee members, Professor Thomas Marambanyika, who are doing a sterling job.
“Most of the logistical matters have been taken care of. We have two hotels that already have signed up in terms of accommodating our guests who are coming into the country,” said Magwizi.
“We have two of the stadiums that have already been approved by COSAFA for use for this tournament. We have Ngoni Stadium as well as the Heart Stadium in Waterfalls.
“So, logistically there are a few loose ends that we are just tying down, but I think mostly the organisation is really up to speed and we are ready to start the tournament.”
The Zimbabwe Under-17 technical team led by Thulani Sibanda has been working with 48 boys selected after a nationwide initiative that took the coaches around the country’s 10 provinces
They also extended the invitation beyond the borders where they managed to shortlist six players from South Africa, one from Hong Kong and Leeds United prodigy Takudzwa Chinyowa from England.
The squad was trimmed to 30 players last week.
But by yesterday they had 27 in camp after three players failed the mandatory Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) age tests.
The squad will further be reduced to the final 25 as required by the tournament rules.
“COSAFA is one of the regions that of course is very strict in ensuring that whoever is going to represent their country must of course be of that age and they will use MRI,” said Magwizi on the use of the technology by CAF.
“Now if a boy is almost 17, the MRI is going to read it as 17; they are no longer Under-17. So, it’s a scientific process that of course has been incorporated into the process of ensuring that all our teams, we have players who are Under-17. So, if you are 16 and a half, I think the MRI will probably read you as Under-17.
“But if you are almost like a few weeks before 17, chances are it’s going to read you as 17 and then ineligible. But of course, that is very unfortunate for our boys.
“There are a few boys that of course due to that have not made it and they had to leave camp which is very unfortunate for them. I feel sorry for them. But of course, those are the rules. We cannot change them.
“We are of course just the hosts, the administrators of the tournament are COSAFA and it’s of course our prerogative to follow what the rules say,” said Magwizi.
