Chronicle Editor
Innocent Kurira
ONE of the country’s brightest prospects abroad Matthew Mparanganda has received a call-up to the Netherlands youth squad.
This is not entirely bad news for Zimbabwe as the defender can still qualify to play for the Warriors in future as he was born to Zimbabwean parents.
Fifa allows those that play for other countries at junior level to switch nationalities.
Mparaganda, who plays for Feyenoord Academy, is part of the provisional 35-man Under-17 Dutch squad named to attend a training camp.
The Netherlands Under-17 team is set to play two friendlies against Czech Republic in early September in preparation for the first European Championship qualifying round.
Mparaganda joined Feyenoord Academy in 2018, and rose through the ranks and is currently with the Under-19 side.
It is not the first time Mparaganda has been named in the Netherlands youth squad.
He made his international debut last year when he featured for the Dutch in the Under-15s.
Mparanganda is one of the players abroad tipped to one day wear the Warriors jersey.
German Michael Nees is now in charge of the Warriors and he gave an insight into his selection process during his unveiling this past week.
“It’s a fact that players have representatives or agents, but they don’t make selections. You have to select the best possible team for your upcoming challenges, and in my previous jobs, I had no problems with them. I think we always made it clear to them that there is a line that shouldn’t be crossed. A player must perform on the pitch, he must show us he is able, he must show the team he commits to the team. For me, the performance on the pitch is everything, nothing else, and I have no family relations or kinship relations here, so you can be assured that I can be objective,” said Nees.
Meanwhile, the Warriors are set to play their Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifier home match against Cameroon in Uganda next month.
The team will first face Kenya on September 6 in their opening Group J match of the 2025 Afcon qualifiers.
Zifa had initially considered renting a stadium in South Africa for the Warriors’ home game against Cameroon on 10 September.
The Warriors have strong support in South Africa due to a large Zimbabwean population.
However, for Zifa, it makes more logistical sense for the Warriors to stay in Uganda after their match against Kenya.
Online Reporter