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Petros Kausiyo
ZIFA have launched a probe into reports that some players in the Young Warriors squad may have manipulated their ages to make the cut in Zimbabwe’s side for the COSAFA Under-20 tournament.
The Young Warriors were scheduled to fly out to Maputo, Mozambique last night ahead of their COSAFA Under-20 opening match on Thursday.
They will be without one of their brightest prospects, Nokutenda Mangezi, whose new South African Premiership club SuperSport United declined to release, citing the striker crisis at the Tshwane outfit.
“Due to a lengthening injury list and key matches coming up, his club have asked that he be excused,” read a foot-note on the ZIFA statement announcing the travelling party.
Young Warriors mentor Simon Marange’s camp has, however, been rocked by damning allegations that at least half a dozen of the squad, which the Orlando Pirates youth coach has been working with in training, dabbled with their ages to remain eligible for selection.
In the absence of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) for the Under-20s, ZIFA have had to rely on information supplied by the players and their respective coaches and the identity documents they presented when vetting the players who reported for camp.
But that has not stopped suspicions about the questionable ages of some of the players from gaining momentum.
And ZIFA technical director Jethro Hunidzarira said yesterday that they were taking the allegations seriously had engaged the Ministry of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage and the Zimbabwe School Examinations Council to assist in their investigations.
Hunidzarira said their initial probe had shown that “everything is above board”.
“We have investigated and ended up at ZIMSEC and Home Affairs verifying.
“We also asked all the players to fill in affidavits stating that the documents and the information they provided are true.
“We then followed up with the suspects and although their documents look okay, we have gone further and checked with ZIMSEC,” Hunidzarira said.
“So, we are giving them (players) the benefit of the doubt and allowing them to travel but if the investigations show otherwise, whoever would have been caught will be recalled.
Hunidzarira bemoaned the poor record-keeping at ZIFA which he said had made their job difficult.
“Unfortunately, at ZIFA there are no records so we rely on what the coaches give us and a player’s record on the FIFA Connect.
“When we came in there was no proper hand-over-take-over and we had to start from scratch with no records and indeed lack of records makes it very difficult to prove that someone has tampered with his age,” added Hunidzarira.
Away from the questions around the ages of some of their players, expectations are high that the Young Warriors will make an impact at the competition.
Tournament organisers COSAFA, yesterday also welcomed former champions Zimbabwe’s return to the tourney, which this year is also being used as a zonal qualifier to the CAF Under-20 Africa Cup of Nations.
“Zimbabwe’s return to the TotalEnergies CAF U20 Africa Cup of Nations, COSAFA qualifier that will be played from September 26-October 5 in Mozambique offers them a chance to make up for lost time,” wrote COSAFA.
“They have only played in one of the previous three editions for various reasons and having one of the power-houses of the region back in the field adds greatly to the competitiveness of the competition.
“Zimbabwe has developed a steady stream of top talent over the years, many finding their way into South Africa’s Premier Soccer League, or even straight to Europe where players are prized assets for their teams”.
The Young Warriors were drawn in the same Group A with hosts Mozambique, Eswatini, and Botswana. With just the top teams in each pool and the best-placed runners-up advancing to the semi-finals, it will be a fiercely con-tested pool.
Marange’s Young Warriors will begin their campaign with a midday kick-off against Botswana’s Young Zebras.
International assignments have been few and far between for Zimbabwe’s youth teams after previous ZIFA leadership made a diabolical decision to abandon development sides and just focus on the senior team — the Warriors. Marange’s men last had a feel of international football when they took part at the Four-Nations tournament in Malawi on March.
COSAFA also believes the Young Warriors will have their work cut out in their quest to reclaim the title they last won in 2007.
“And Zimbabwe have some work to do to improve their recent record at this level. They were runners-up in 2018 but were ousted in the group stages in 2016 and 2017, which will have been a disappointment.
“The last time the team lifted the trophy was back in 2007 Indeed, the Young Warriors side has been amongst the most successful teams in the history of the competition with six wins in all.
“But their recent record does require closer inspection. They surprisingly did not fare well in South Africa in 2016 though, going out in the first round with a 5-1 loss to Zambia, followed by a 0-0 draw with Malawi.
“They narrowly missed out on the semi-finals in 2017 based on goals scored, with 0-0 draws against Lesotho and Namibia either side of a 1-0 win over Angola.
“But as Lesotho had scored one more goal than them in the pool stages, they advanced as the top team in the pool”.
The Young Warriors, however, returned to the 2018 competition, finishing top of their pool with six points from a possible nine, and then surprised Zambia 2-1 in the semi-finals.
They met South Africa in the decider but lost 4-3 on penalties after a 0-0 draw.
On their last appearance at the tournament in 2020, Zimbabwe lost out in the group stages. In this year’s tourney, the carrot being dangled in front of the Zimbabwean players is that several scouts from mostly South African clubs will be in Maputo to look out for new talent from a country that has a long history of sending quality players to play in the South African Premiership.
Zimbabwe Under-20 Squad
Goalkeepers: Joseph Kaunda (Manica Diamonds), Michael Kubvedzi (ZPC Kariba), Tatenda Chikowero (Ngezi Platinum)
Defenders: Allan Karakadzai (Simba Bhora), Allan Chapinduka (TelOne FC), Blessed Mashonganyika (Ngezi Platinum), Kurainashe Musanhi (Crystal Palace), Mvelo Khoza (Highlanders), Morris Musamba (Bikita Minerals)
Midfielders: Kennedy Mupomba (Chelmsford City FC), Denzel Mapuwa (Green Fuel), Prince Ndlovu (Highlanders), Kingsley Mureremba (Caps United), Enock Moyo (Bikita Minerals), Tanaka Munemo (Ngezi Platinum), Nesbert Muzenda (Ngezi Platinum), Mafios Chiweta (Ajax Hotspurs), Munashe Munenzva
Forwards: Tanaka Cherera (Bury FC), Sean Mzinde (Harare City)
Nokutenda Mangezi (SuperSport United) — due to a lengthening injury list and key matches coming up, his club have asked that he be excused.
Online Reporter