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Eddie Chikamhi
Senior Sports Reporter
SEAN MZINDE could not believe his luck after watching his shot ricochet off the crossbar in the decisive penalty in the shootout lottery of the TotalEnergies CAF Under-20 Africa Cup of Nations | COSAFA Qualifier semi-final against Zambia.
He was angry at himself, and understandably so, because the miss meant a lot for him and 19 of his teammates.
It meant their efforts in fighting from two goals down to end the match on 2-2 went to waste with that kick, as they lost the match 5-6 in the penalty shootout.
This effectively eliminated them from today’s final, which features regional powerhouses Zambia and South Africa.
It also meant the Young Warriors’ quest for a maiden appearance at the CAF Under-20 AFCON will remain a pipe dream for now.
More importantly, it also meant that Zimbabwe could only dream about the FIFA Under-20 World Cup to be held in Chile next year.
“I was saying to the players (before the game against Zambia) that where they are they are on the brink of becoming professionals,” said Young Warriors coach Simon Marange.
“Matches of consequence are very important; matches that could seem like they define your lives because I can tell you right now all of them think life is over.
“But we obviously know that there are bigger things in life. Matches of consequence are a huge factor in how big players make their last step into professional football.”
Indeed, that was not the end of the world considering most of the boys in Marange’s team were aged between 18 and 19.
Some of them have already broken into the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League first team football, while others are about to do the same.
The team showed a lot of potential, with Zimbabwe performing beyond expectations, having been away from the regional stage for the past three years.
“I think with this tournament overall, we will take a lot of positives out of it,” Marange reasoned
“I know it’s difficult now because it seems like it might have been in vain, but I think the Zimbabwean people can be proud.
“We didn’t have age-group football for the last three years and to come into a tournament against the defending champions and push them to the limit like this and come on the brink of qualifying for Africa’s biggest tournament — something, which we have never done — I think is a reflection of the amount of work that’s happening in the background.”
As a way forward, the team needs to be kept intact, with ZIFA providing the supporting structures to help them graduate to the Under-23 side that should compete in the qualifiers for the 2028 Olympics.
Since the coaches now have somewhere to start from, the ZIFA scouts should double their efforts to widen the selection base.
The association would also need to tighten their monitoring and screening systems to ensure only genuine Under-17 or Under-20 players make it into the age-group teams.
Zimbabwe also have an important new province in the diaspora, where a host of young players are coming up under the guidance of some of the best junior development coaches in Europe, where they also have the privilege of getting exposure to state-of-the-art facilities.
With a bit of organisation, these can be integrated into the national age-group teams.
The likes of Leon Chiwome (18) of Wolves, Trey Nyoni (17) and Isaac Mabaya (20), who are on the books of Liverpool and have represented England at youth level, need to be persuaded to consider Zimbabwe as an option.
They need to be convinced that they stand a better chance to play for Zimbabwe’s Warriors, as compared to England’s Three Lions, and starting from the age groups will instil in them the crucial element of belonging.
The options are vast and Zimbabwe could have a good base in the next five years if ZIFA can also lure players like Sean Tarima (20) of West Ham, Sean Fusire (19) of Sheffield Wednesday and Chelsea’s Shumaira Mheuka (16).
ZIFA technical director Jethro Hunidzarira is aware of the options in the diaspora.
“We know we have a host of young players abroad and we are making efforts to reach out to all players of Zimbabwean heritage,” he said.
“Very soon we will be rolling out a programme to engage qualified coaches and scouts abroad to try and create a database of all the young players who should be considered to play for Zimbabwe.”
Back home, the systems need to be strengthened. There should be a vibrant junior league.
ZIFA would also need to do more to support and create a better working environment for academies, which are the only institutions guaranteeing young players’ training and game time all year round.
The school system in the country is still largely prohibitive as it limits players to only one term of football per year.
While academies have gone out of their way to lure top-notch development coaches, most school teams are guided by “teachers in charge”, some of whom have no technical background to be defined as coaches.
Premiership coaches would also need to be brave enough to have faith in young and upcoming players.
Rarely has a talented 17-year-old been given regular game time in the domestic Premiership, yet big leagues like their English counterparts are throwing in 16-year-olds into the fray.
Although the PSL has a requirement that all clubs in the league should register at least five Under-20 players, not many have been allowed to play with regularity, with a few, who include Blessing Mashonganyika of Ngezi Platinum, Green Fuel’s Washington Mapuwa and to some extent Prince Ndlovu of Highlanders, often featuring for their teams or being part of the match-day sides.
Marange is praying for a change in approach.
“Fortunately, or unfortunately, considering the way our leagues are set up, they might not get so many opportunities to play these types of games, because if I’m a coach in the PSL and we need to win a game, maybe I am not going to throw in an 18- or 19-year-old,” said Marange.
Dynamos coach Lloyd Chigowe, who is a strong proponent of junior development, believes more opportunities will sharpen the young players.
He argues that ZIFA should first acknowledge the importance of junior football by reinstating the Zimbabwe Junior Football League in the Congress.
Chigowe is also against ZIFA’s lackadaisical approach to junior football and the last-minute preparations when it comes to regional competitions.
Zimbabwe are also set to participate in COSAFA Under-17 men’s and women’s tournaments in Mozambique next month.
“There is no shortcut. To those who are in football by accident, it’s an arduous process, but for the genuine junior football development practitioners, it is the way to go for us to build formidable national youth teams.
“For the record, these COSAFA tournaments will be used to determine the teams that will qualify for the CAF Under-17 tournament, but our approach, where we do things at the last minute, does not augur well for development,” said Chigowe.
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