Online Reporter
Zimpapers Sports Hub
THE frustration, which has been triggered by the Warriors’ poor campaign in the 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign, exploded in Johannesburg yesterday when Tino Kadewere clashed with a journalist.
Kadewere feels he has been receiving unjustified criticism, some of which he feels is personal, from journalist Yvonne Mangunda.
Matters came to a head at the Orlando Stadium yesterday when a furious Kadewere charged at Mangunda and poked her on the chest.
The chaos exploded during the Warriors’ training session at the venue which will host their World Cup qualifier against Rwanda today.
It’s clear that tension has been rising after the Warriors’ winless run in this campaign which also saw them fall to a 0-1 defeat at the hands of Benin in Abidjan on Friday.
Kadewere is one of the players who have been targeted for criticism given that he has struggled to score for the national team despite Nees showing a lot of trust in the forward.
He was restrained by some ZIFA officials from attacking the journalist who was pleading with him to explain his anger towards her.
Kadewere threatened to assault the scribe if she remained at the stadium beyond the team’s training duration, and verbally abused her.
He even mocked her physical appearance.
Kadewere was not amused by the journalist asking him to justify his inclusion in the national team.
He was then forced to issue an apology by ZIFA officials. There is a feeling within the Kadewere camp that the striker is being targeted by a gang of journalists.
“It’s very clear that there is a campaign out there to tarnish Tino’s name and blame him for all the problems which are facing the national team.
“We know what is happening and we know that it’s all co-ordinated.”
Londile Moyo
A few weeks back I mentioned this in my response to one Robson Sharuko’s comment regarding the poor shape our football is in. Media is contributing a lot in destroying our football, from poor and biased reporting to becoming technical advisors in how football must be run. It wasn’t going to be too late before things came to a head. We don’t need personal opinions to lead reporters. It will create bad relationships. Gone are the days when journalism was a profession. Today journalists have become more social media pundits and they report like they run blogs.
Even the late Peter Banga could not have marked this questioning as correct for he never taught this crape. How on this planet can a journalist ask one out of team of eleve players to justify his inclusion in the team that has lost such a crucial match? Guys, let’s be a bit realitic and respect every human for what he/she is. Forcing him to issue an apology is as good as claping hands for this wayward journalist and that should not happen in sports. During the Konjera and Mucherahowa error I was told journalists are paid to advertise some players and shoot others down. Musicians used to cry foul about Radio time with others receiving favors of prime time. Journalism applied properly can built nations but the opposite is also true.