Chronicle EditorGrace Chingoma Senior Sports Reporter
ZIFA are set to appoint Mark Harrison as the Warriors substantive coach following an Association board meeting in the capital on Friday where they agreed to rope in the British mentor to fill the vacancy left by Callisto Pasuwa early this year. Harrison is currently working in Zimbabwe as technical director of football at Harare City.
The British expatriate is expected to retain his post at the council-owned club under a special arrangement between his club and the Association. The arrangement will see Harrison become a full-time coach for the national team while he continues with his duties in City’s structures where he has more of a supervisory role. However, this arrangement is expected to be more workable compared to what FC Platinum coach Norman Mapeza and ZPC Kariba’s Sunday Chidzambwa did during their recent stints with the national team this year.
The duo this year took up Warriors assignments with Mapeza presiding over the first African Cup of Nations qualifier against Liberia in June while Chidzambwa took the team to COSAFA Cup in South Africa and the CHAN assignments.
Unlike Mapeza and Chidzambwa, Harrison is not involved in day-to-day coaching at Harare City, but rather oversees the whole football structure. Philani “Beefy” Ncube is the gaffer for the league side, the Sunshine Boys while Mkhupali “Mr Cooper” Masuku is involved with the Harare Cubs, the club’s developmental side. Sources say ZIFA and the Harare City executive are expected to thrash out this week the finer details, which includes timelines of Harrison’s stint with the Warriors. Yesterday, Harare City secretary-general Mathew Marara said they won’t have a problem with ZIFA’s request.
“They haven’t approached us, but we have also heard rumours to that effect. If approached as a club, we will put national interest first and we cannot reject that. I don’t think that will be a problem (having Harrison doubling as the national team coach and Harare City technical director),” said Marara. ZIFA spokesperson Xolisani Gwesela said the Association will advise on the Warriors post once they have reached a decision. He could not divulge whether there are any specific names that have been earmarked for the post following Friday’s meeting by the executive committee.
Online Reporter