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Langton Nyakwenda-Sports Reporter
THE next Warriors coach will not have the privilege of choosing his squad as he will work with a pool of players selected by a technical committee, Zimpapers Sports has learnt.
ZIFA’s Normalisation Committee is yet to announce the new coach and have gone quiet since Norman Mapeza took charge during a four-nation friendly tournament held in Malawi back in March.
And time is now running out for ZIFA, who flighted an advert for the national team job on Tuesday.
Since it is a requirement for national associations to send invitation letters to foreign clubs at least two weeks before a match, it looks likely that the next Warriors coach will not be appointed in time to select his troops.
Zimbabwe will play two World Cup qualifiers in June.
They will “host” Lesotho at Orlando Stadium in Johannesburg on June 7, before facing South Africa at Free State on June 11.
ZIFA Normalisation Committee chairman, Lincoln Mutasa, yesterday dropped a big hint on how the next Warriors squad will be selected.
“The technical committee is working on that aspect so that when the coach comes in there is already a structure of players he can work with,” said Mutasa.
ZIFA technical director, Jethro Hunidzarira, leads this technical committee but he was not available for comment yesterday.
It seems the Normalisation Committee has developed a habit of choosing players for national team coaches.
Mapeza was appointed interim Warriors coach on March 12, just six days before the national team travelled to Malawi for the four-nations tournament.
It turned out Mapeza did not have any input in the selection of players, who did duty in Malawi.
And now the next Warriors coach will also miss the opportunity to select his own set of players.
While it looked like Mapeza would continue in his job since he was the one who assessed the players during the tournament in Malawi, ZIFA’s Normalisation Committee has been mum on their next move.
Instead, they re-advertised the Warriors post on Tuesday.
Several names including former SuperSport United and Richards Bay coach Kaitano Tembo, George Mbwando, and ex-Warriors gaffer Charles Mhlauri are being linked with the top job.
A respected football administrator questioned the logic behind the delay in announcing the next Warriors coach.
“Remember we have foreign-based players whose clubs need to be notified at least two weeks before a match.
“So, in this case, it was logical for Mapeza to continue since he was in charge during the international break which we used to test several players,” said the administrator.
Should Mapeza’s interim reign be discontinued, it means a third coach will take charge of the Warriors within seven months.
Brazilian gaffer Brito was in charge when Zimbabwe played their opening two World Cup qualifiers in Rwanda last November.
The Warriors played a goalless draw against Rwanda on November 15 before drawing 1-1 against Nigeria four days later.
Zimbabwe used Huye Stadium in Butare for their home game against Nigeria and will play their next home game against Lesotho in Johannesburg since the National Sports Stadium remains unfit to host international matches.
“Yes it’s confirmed, Zimbabwe will host Lesotho in South Africa,” ZIFA chief executive officer, Yvonne Manwa, told Zimpapers Sport yesterday.
The football association is already circulating a poster for the two successive games in South Africa.
Zimbabwe have two points from two matches in Group C of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.
Rwanda lead Group C with four points, one ahead of South Africa while Lesotho and Nigeria are also on two points.
Benin anchors the standings with a point.
Online Reporter