Online Reporter
Langton Nyakwenda, Zimpapers Sports Hub
THE Zimbabwe Football Association (Zifa) has chosen stability over another clear-out, even as the Warriors walked away early from yet another Africa Cup of Nations.
Zimbabwe’s 2025 Afcon campaign in Morocco ended where so many before it have, in the group stages. It was the sixth time the Warriors failed to break that barrier. The familiar frustration lingered, but inside Zifa House the response has shifted. No panic. No public blame. No rush to tear everything down.
Attention has already moved to the 2027 Afcon qualifiers, which begin in March. Zimbabwe avoids the preliminary round, buying time that previous administrations rarely used wisely. This time, Zifa says that time will be spent building forward, not resetting again.
That marks a change from the past. After every Afcon exit, technical teams were reshuffled, plans abandoned, and new cycles announced with little connection to what came before. Players arrived and disappeared. Coaches never settled. Progress stalled.
Zifa president Nqobile Magwizi says that pattern ends now.
“Our focus immediately shifts to the road ahead,” Magwizi said. “There are important competitions coming up, the African Games, Women’s Afcon, the Olympic pathway, the 2027 Afcon qualifiers starting in March, and further ahead the 2030 World Cup.”
Continuity, he insists, is no longer a slogan. It is policy.
That stance matters because change is coming anyway. Senior figures such as Washington Arubi, Knowledge Musona and Alec Mudimu are unlikely to carry through to the 2027 cycle. Time and mileage are catching up. Their exits will not be dramatic, but they will leave gaps in leadership and experience.
Those gaps are already being filled by a younger core that emerged during the Morocco campaign. Tawanda Masvanhise has found form at Scottish Premiership side Motherwell. Daniel Msendami has secured a move to Orlando Pirates in South Africa. Bill Antonio, Jonah Fabisch, Munashe Garananga and Tawanda Chirewa have all shown enough to suggest Zimbabwe’s next team will look very different from the last one.
That evolution puts coach Marian Marinica at a crossroads. He could lean fully into a rebuilt squad when qualifiers begin, or ease the transition while experience still lingers. What Zifa is signalling is that, either way, he will be given time to make it work.
Previous leaderships rarely offered that patience. Marinica appears set to benefit from a longer runway.
“Each of the upcoming competitions requires careful planning and early preparation,” Magwizi said. “What we are committed to is continuity, making sure each tournament feeds into the next instead of starting from zero every cycle.”
The calendar ahead leaves no room for drift. In April, Zimbabwe’s Under-17 women begin their 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Uganda. Mid-year brings the senior Cosafa Cup.
Regional Cosafa tournaments follow across age groups, men and women, from schools level to the senior teams.
“We have a lot of football coming up,” Magwizi said. “We must be competitive in all spaces.”
The mood around the national teams has heard these words before. What changes now is the decision not to burn everything down after Morocco. For once, the plan is to stay the course and see where it leads.
