Warriors dealt Ebola blow

Two weeks ago Zifa had said the Warriors would travel to Kampala for a four-nation competition. This they hoped would give the coaches another chance to view what they have locally in terms of talent.

“It’s a pity we could not go to Uganda last week. We had agreed to that tournament so that the Warriors coaches could have an opportunity to try out their combinations ahead of the crucial tie against Angola on 5 September.

“We are serious as Zifa about that fixture. We want to win and qualify for the finals but this Ebola outbreak was disappointment,” said Zifa chief executive officer, Jonathan Mashingaidze.

He said his association was of the understanding that last Wednesday’s date had been scrapped as a date for international friendlies. “Not so many countries participated in friendly matches on the day because of the communication they had received from Fifa,” said Mashingaidze.

The national coaches are expected to announce a team to prepare for the crunch tie against Angola next week.

On Sunday coaches Rahman Gumbo and Peter Ndlovu were part of the crowd that watched Highlanders go 18 matches without a loss. Bosso beat Gunners 1-0 courtesy of Milton Ncube’s 10th goal of the season.

They were not the only high-profile figures with roots at the club that witnessed the match as legendary club winger Madinda and Adam Ndlovu, Willard Khumalo, Tobias Mudyambanje, Sam Sibanda and Mackenzie Sibanda were part of the crowd. Zifa vice-president Ndumiso Gumede was also there.

In an interview after the match Peter, who is Gumbo’s assistant, said they would try to watch as many local matches as they can to identify more talent for national teams.

“Also for the Under-23s I travel a lot. The other day I was in Banket watching Division One football and today (Sunday) I was watching the Highlanders and Gunners match. We will try to travel as wide as we can to see what we could consider,” said Peter, one of three Zimbabweans to play at one of the world’s top leagues, with Bruce Grobbelaar and Benjani Mwaruwari in England.

In the past there have been complaints that coaches call up players they have never watched play. Some national coaches have resigned or been fired without ever bothering to drive to towns outside Harare to scout for talent.