Online Reporter
Petros Kausiyo-Zimpapers Sports Hub
ZIFA have upped their search for a Warriors coach amid revelations that the football mother body are on the verge of sealing a deal with the man who will take charge of the senior team on a substantive basis.
The Warriors have been without a substantive gaffer since April 27, when Marian “Mario’’ Marinica abruptly re-signed.
Marinica reportedly cited personal reasons when he left the Warriors after just five months in charge.
The Romanian had come in as a replacement for German Michael Nees.
Warriors assistant Kaitano Tembo has been the interim coach, with the former Zimbabwe defender presiding over the Unity Cup tournament in the United Kingdom at the end of May.
Former SuperSport United coach Tembo was also an assistant to Nees, along with CAPS United gaffer Takesure Chiragwi.
It has, however, emerged that ZIFA are closing in on making announcements for coaches for all the national teams, including the Mighty Warriors, Young Warriors, Young Mighty Warriors, and the Schools Under-15 sides, which have over the years been competing in the CAF Schools competitions.
Ramon Catala
Although she confirmed that they had intensified their search for the national teams’ coaches, ZIFA General Secretary Yvonne Manwa declined to discuss much about the developments, arguing that she could not pre-empt “deliberations, which are at an advanced stage’’.
“All I can say at the moment is that we are seized with the matter (of looking for a national coach) and we will advise the nation when all due processes are completed,’’ Manwa said.
ZIFA have also this time broken with their tradition of asking for applications from prospective candidates and instead went on a head-hunting mission, guided by the long-term objectives they have set out for the Warriors.
Among those structured objectives is the bid to qualify for the 2030 World Cup in Morocco, Portugal, and Spain, dubbed “Dream2030’’.
Although Manwa was coy on the processes currently underway, Zimpapers Sports Hub has it on good authority that in intensifying their search for the coach, ZIFA have over the last few months also consulted FIFA experts, including the world football governing body’s Chief of Global Football Development and former Arsenal manager, Arsene Wenger.
Wenger’s department at FIFA, which also has Jill Ellis, is responsible for directing the growth of both men’s and women’s football, oversees youth academies and coaching education, global football strategies, and leading technical rule reviews.
ZIFA are understood to have engaged and considered a number of coaches, who include the Belgian Tom Saintfiet, Serbian Milutin “Micho’’ Sjredovic of Serbia, Spaniard Ramon Catala, Frenchman Harve Renard, German Torsten Spittler, Portuguese Luis Goncalves, Egyptian Mohamed Fathi, and Tembo.
Saintfiet had an abortive stint as Warriors coach, which lasted just days in October 2010 before he was deported for working without a permit.
He had in September 2010 signed a four-year deal with ZIFA before some administrative bungling meant that he was bundled out of the country for flouting the immigration regulations.
There have been hopes that ZIFA and the Belgian who had been in charge of Mali between 2024 and April 2026, could rekindle their romance.
Kaitano Tembo
Saintfiet is, however, just one of the coaches with experience in the African game, whom ZIFA are understood to have sounded out, with the others being the widely travelled Sredojevic, who has previously taken charge of Uganda, Zambia, Libya, and also presided over Sudanese giants Al Hilal and reigning South African Premiership champions Orlando Pirates.
Spittler was in charge of Rwanda last year and also served as technical director at the Mozambique Football Federation.
After years of having the Warriors being mostly under the guidance of German coaches, it would be interesting to see if ZIFA will continue with that trend when they settle for their man.
There, however, is some rare Spanish, Egyptian, and Portuguese flair being provided by the trio of Catala, Fathi, and Goncalves, should any of them win the mandate to take charge of the Warriors.
Catala boasts of some extensive international experience across Europe, Asia, and the Middle East in club football and also notably served as the academy manager for Dynamo Kyiv’s youth teams in Russia before taking up a role as a technical director for the Libyan team, which he also briefly coached at a CHAN competition.
Ex-Highlanders coach Fathi had a successful stint in charge of Zambian outfit NAPSA Stars, guiding them to the group stage of the CAF Confederation Cup.
Goncalves is the former Angola and Mozambique coach who is also famed for player development and international management.
He is also best known for his extensive work in nurturing youth talent across Europe, especially at Sporting Lisbon.
ZIFA’s bid to lure two-time Africa Cup of Nations winner Renard hit a snag after the Frenchman was unveiled as Cote d’Ivoire coach, reuniting with the Elephants with whom he won the 2015 title.
But as they look to unveil the senior team’s next substantive gaffer, there are indications that ZIFA are also this time looking for a coach who would be in for the long haul, that will go beyond the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations scheduled for Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania.
“Although qualifying for the AFCON 2027 is essential, ZIFA also wants some continuity and would want a coach who can also build structures and systems that can make the Warriors competitive enough to fight for a spot at the 2030 World Cup.
“So, the objective is not about appointing a coach for an event, but one whose vision also tallies with the association’s long and short-term objectives,’’ ZIFA sources said.
ZIFA have already roiled out an audacious plan targeting World Cup qualification in 2030 and which includes regional and continental tournaments in between.
