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Harare Bureau
THE Young Warriors were yesterday handed a relatively easier group in the African Games in Brazzaville, Congo, in September in a draw conducted yesterday in Cairo.
They were pooled against Congo, Sudan and Burkina Faso.
The African Games will be held from September 3 to 18.
The national Under-23 side will be making a third appearance at the Games which are held after every four countries after they featured in the finals in Cairo, Egypt, in 1991.
Four years later, on home soil, they won a silver medal.
Zimbabwe have avoided Group B which has heavyweights Ghana, Senegal, Egypt and Nigeria.
The Young Warriors will first play Burkina Faso and then meet Sudan before completing their group matches against the hosts.
Yesterday, Warriors’ manager Shariff Mussa said it wasn’t an easy group.
“We cannot say it’s a hard draw or an easy one but obviously for tournaments of this nature you need to train adequately.
“Players must also stay focused and they shouldn’t read much into the identity of the teams in the group.
“Obviously, being part of Team Zimbabwe we believe there’s also need to incentivise the players, motivate them and make sure the players that are called up are made available to the coach,” he said.
Coach Callisto Pasuwa’s Young Warriors are also still involved in the African Championships and will play South Africa next week in the first leg of the two-legged matches.
The African Championships will be held in December in Senegal and the four teams that reach the last four will represent Africa at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Meanwhile, the Warriors rose seven places on the Fifa rankings and are now on position 112 from 119.
Online Reporter