dyton mupawaenda
Eddie Chikamhi-Senior Sports Reporter
ZIMBABWE are set to call their foreign-based players during next week’s FIFA international break to get their 2026 World Cup preparations in motion with a regional selection tournament to be held in Harare.
The ZIFA Normalisation Committee revealed the plans for a four-team tournament that will be followed by a proposed international friendly match between the Warriors and Botswana.
Zimbabwe are returning to international football after 17 months of suspension by FIFA.
And, they will plunge into serious international competitions next month when they begin the 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Rwanda and Nigeria.
ZIFA Normalisation Committee chairman Lincoln Mutasa said the Warriors needed to be adequately prepared for international competition.
The association recently appointed Highlanders coach Baltemar Brito to take charge of the national team.
“The next step for the Warriors is basically to prepare well for the two (World Cup qualifying) games coming up next month,” said Mutasa.
“As a committee all we can do is to try and make sure that the coaches and the technical team have all the support that they need.
“They are the ones who select the players. They are the ones who will come to us and say we want such and such a player and we will try and facilitate their presence.
“We have players inside and outside the country, in South Africa and in Europe and we try and make them to come over the FIFA window,” said Mutasa.
Zimbabwe have so far played two games, since the lifting of the FIFA ban. They played Namibia at the National Sports Stadium in an invitational match to celebrate the inauguration of President Mnangagwa, as well as Botswana in Gaborone to mark the neighbouring country’s 57th Independence Day anniversary.
But selection for the two games was limited to few local based players.
Nomalisation Committee member Rose Mugadza said a four-team tournament was on the cards as the association look set to utilise the upcoming international break to come up with a competitive Warriors squad.
The FIFA international break will begin this Monday and run for the next nine days until October 18.
Mugadza revealed that the four teams for the selection tournament will include the Northern Region led by Warriors assistant coach Genesis Mangombe, who is also the Dynamos coach, the Southern Region led by former Hwange Coach Bongani Mafu, the Diaspora team made up of foreign-based players and the People’s Choice team that will be voted by football fans.
“The Normalisation Committee is planning to have a selection event for all the players, especially after seeing that we have played two games – one for the inauguration of the President and the other one for the Botswana independence celebration.
“But we were strictly choosing two players maximum for each local club, and no foreign-based players, which doesn’t give us the best players that we want. So, we are saying during this window period starting from October 9 to 17, why not have a regional selection pitting the Northern region and the Southern region, the people’s team where the spectators – the owners of the game – will choose the team that they want as well as the coaches?
“We also aim to have the diaspora players, those who are in the Diaspora who are not as known as Marvelous Nakamba or Marshall Munetsi.
“They can constitute a team and then come for a one-day tournament. Botswana have also asked for an international friendly match during this international break, and we are putting all things in place.
“We are working hand in hand with the technical team to make sure we get the best before we engage Rwanda and Nigeria (in the World Cup qualifiers),” said Mugadza.
Zimbabwe will face Rwanda in the second week of November away.
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But they will not be able to host Nigeria at home because the local stadiums have been condemned by FIFA. The ZIFA Normalisation Committee is still weighing options between playing in South Africa and Botswana.
“It’s a pity that we are unable to use our stadiums for now, but I am very encouraged by the efforts made towards rehabilitating the National Sports Stadium,” said Mutasa.
“A lot of work has been done but it’s not yet quite complete. So, for now our biggest worry is the financial implications because when you play away from home, it means you have to spend more on air fares, the hotel bills.
“All those are extra expenses that could be mitigated when you are playing at home. We have talked to a number of countries and now we are just waiting for the costings from those countries on how much it would cost us to hosts a match in either Botswana, South Africa or the other venues.”
Zimbabwe are in Group C of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers along with Rwanda, Nigeria, South Africa, Benin and Lesotho.
Online Reporter