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Mehluli Sibanda, Senior Sports Reporter
THERE will be no return to action for the Zimbabwe women Under-20 football team who were meant to face Ethiopia in a World Cup qualifier next month since the Confederation of African Football has postponed the matches.
In a short statement on Monday, the Zimbabwe Football Association said Caf have postpone the World Cup qualifiers since there are still travel restrictions in most of the countries to control the spread the of the coronavirus.
The Mighty Warriors were meant to face Ethiopia early next month and it is expected that the matches will only take place once countries ease travel controls.
“Caf postpones World Cup qualifiers Our U20 women’s team’s match against Ethiopia this September has been postponed indefinitely CAF rightly says travel restrictions to stop the spread of covid-19 are still in place in most countries,’’ read the statement from Zifa.
Zimbabwe eliminated Malawi on a 2-1 aggregate score in February to set up a first round clash with Ethiopia. The first leg ended 1-1 in Malawi before Talent Bizeki’s 75th-minute strike ensured Zimbabwe got a 2-1 aggregate win over the visitors in the second fixture at Barbourfields Stadium.
The two first round legs will take place between 3 and 12 September while the second and third round will be played in October and November respectively.
Coached by Rosemary Mugadza, the Young Mighty Warriors were already preparing to face Ethiopia at the end of March before the matches were postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak. The team was in camp at the Zifa Village before the players were sent home due to Covid-19.
Initially, the Under-20 World Cup was meant to take place in August in Costa Rica and Panama but was postponed because of Covid-19. Fifa have since advised that the tournament will be played from the 20 January to the 6 February in 2021.
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