adminThe Confederation of African Football has set 12-14 October as the weekend for the second leg matches whose aggregate winners will proceed to South Africa for the 2013 Orange Afcon finals.
The Warriors were yesterday smiling all the way to the bank after getting $3 000 in winning bonuses.
Zifa treasurer Elliot Kasu said his organisation would leave no stone unturned in their quest for the team to travel to Luanda and preparations for the journey started yesterday.
Kasu said the tendence has been that people celebrate for far too long and forget the task at hand and when they are eventually jerked into action it would be too late.
He said the team would definitely travel to Angola this time around.
Last month Zifa irked soccer fans when they failed to raise enough money to take an Under-20 team to Angola for a continental qualifier.
The Young Warriors had been beaten 1-0 at home and still had an outside chance of pulling through to the next stage with a good result in Luanda.
“We will pull all strings together to ensure the team travels to Angola. We are not taking any rest, we have begun preparations for that game because we want to win and move to the next stage which are the continental finals in South Africa.
“As Zifa we want to qualify and hence we will give our technical team maximum support and prepare while there is still time,” said Kasu.
The Zifa board member responsible for finance said they were grateful to Mbada Diamond Holdings for supporting the senior national team for the first leg.
He said such partnerships could go a long way in raising the profile of Zimbabwean football.
Mbada paid $59 000 towards the Warriors’ bonuses and allowances with each player getting $2 000 for the win.
A further $1 000 per player came from Buymore Holdings owned by Zifa president Cuthbert Dube.
“We are so grateful for the partnership with Mbada and Buymore. Camp went smoothly and Dube added another $1 000 to the players’ winning bonuses leaving them with $3 000 before camping and appearance fees are factored in.
“We are going to engage Mbada again for the second leg and we will be talking to business leaders to come on board and assist us qualify for the final.
“We are at a stage where every Zimbabwean has to play a part in helping the national association and the Warriors,” said Kasu yesterday.
The diamond company also helped with airfares for the players.
Kasu said for the second leg Zifa had two options, one to charter a plane with the second being to travel by commercial airlines.
He said both options depended on the corporate sector’s response to their requests.
Zifa, he said, wanted to have cleared all travelling arrangements well in time. This, he said, would allow fans who are eager to travel with the team to know what packages would be in place.
Online Reporter