If you sow confusion, you will reap chaos

IN less than 26 days, our men’s senior soccer team, the Warriors, which some describe as the country’s flagship sporting team, will be plunging into battle in a World Cup qualifier against Lesotho at Orlando Stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Unlike the last time when they played their home matches in Rwanda, they are likely to feel more at home in Mzansi, which hosts a burgeoning population of Zimbabweans, most of whom would definitely like to turn up for the fixture.

Depending on whom you talk to, the population of our countrymen and women in South Africa — some say it is around 800 000, while others believe it is anything between 1,5 million and two million — might be more or less the whole population of Lesotho.

So, the Warriors can be forgiven for taking this as a fixture that is being played at home.

But this provides little comfort and consolation to the embarrassing fact that we continue failing to come up with a decent football stadium fit to host international matches.

We now know that, according to CAF, nothing less than rebuilding Rufaro Stadium will do before it is given the green light to host international matches.

Currently, it is barely meeting the minimum expectations for home matches.

Sometime during the Easter holidays, the Premier Soccer League’s First Instance Board even contemplated suspending matches after problems with the turnstiles and ablution facilities.

We cannot even begin talking about Gwanzura Stadium, which was invaded by a daring army of sweet potato farmers during the rainy season.

Even powerful prayers could not save Uebert Angel, who had initially volunteered to spruce up the stadium, from being hounded into abandoning the thought by the Harare City Council; just in the same way it also frustrated the stinking rich Sakunda into walking away from his ambitious project for Rufaro Stadium.

Last week, we also heard that Walter Magaya’s Heart Stadium had been suspended from hosting matches as it has been operating without public toilets ever since its partial homologation in March.

And no one even talks of Chibuku Stadium in Chitungwiza anymore, a venue that somehow survived the late star land baron Frederick Mabamba’s frenzied parcelling out of land in the area.

It is a mess.

But this is the least of our worries.

Presently, we do not have the slightest idea of who will take charge of the Warriors in Lesotho from the 151 applicants for the hot seat.

And the jockeying by vested journalists who will rather have their friends take up the job makes it even worse.

But even if the new coach were to be announced this week, will he have ample time to prepare for the two fixtures in South Africa?

Which players will he choose?

We all witnessed the controversy after the Warriors’ recent friendly fixtures in Malawi, where the British Brigade was staking its claim.

There was this whole hullabaloo over player selection, which culminated in the famous verbal spat between Norman Mapeza and Jordan Zemura.

It also does not help that our domestic league, which does not have a vibrant youth policy, has not done enough to promote youthful talent to put on the national colours.

We do not need to be pushing for players who retired from international football, like Khama Billiat, Knowledge Musona and Nyasha Mushekwi, to bounce back again.

They did their part.

We need new names, new heroes and new villains.

But for Pete’s sake, let us get our preparations right. We cannot expect a miracle from shambolic preparations.

They say failing to plan is planning to fail.

If you sow the wind, you reap a whirlwind.

If you sow confusion, you reap chaos.

It seems the council and ZIFA have done everything possible to lower our expectations as the World Cup qualifiers begin.

At this rate, success will continue to elude us.

Until next time.

Peace!

Yours Sincerely,

Bra Shakes.