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Fungai Muderere
THE countrya��s football mother body, Zifa, will this year hold nine Caf Licence courses after being given the green light by the Confederation of African Football (Caf).
The courses that will be spread throughout the year will be held countrywide.
The courses come at a time when Zifa is adopting the standardisation of coachesa�� qualifications for various levels of coaching.
The courses on offer are Caf C, Caf B and Caf B equivalence which will be strictly attended on invitation by Zifa, with a bias towards former national team players.
Bindura will host two courses, a Caf C licence programme to be conducted between 22 April and 5 May and a Caf B licence from 5 December to 23 December.
Four other Caf C licence coaching courses will be held in Gwanda (7 May to 22 May), in Mutare and Masvingo (5 June to 19 June); Mashonaland West (11 July to 25 July) and Bulawayo (7 October to 22 October).
The first of the two Caf B licences for this year will be held in Zvishavane from 7 to 22A� May, while a Caf B equivalence course reserved for legendary players will be conducted on 7 to 22 November.
Meanwhile, after the conclusion of the first round of matches for the 2017 Castle Lager Premier Soccer League, Zifa has announced that all eligible players have been duly licenced, therefore, players without licences issued by the association would not be eligible to play in upcoming fixtures.
Speaking to the associationa��s official website, www.zifa.org.zw, communications and club licensing manager, Xolisani Gwesela, underscored Zifaa��s stance to regularise coachesa�� qualifications for the current season going forward and those of the medical staff.
a�?In the opening games of the 2017 Premier Soccer League season, we allowed some teams to play without licences since the licensing process was still in progress.
a�?However, players without licences will not be allowed to play in the second round of fixtures because the Zimbabwe Football Association has issued licences to all registered and eligible players. We also would like to reiterate that no unqualified coaches are allowed to sit on the bench and that Caf A licences are still a prerequisite.We are very much aware that some clubs have dodged the system by appointing unqualified coaches as team managers. As Zifa, we take great exception to this dubious distinction, and we urge clubs to be professional,a�? said Gwesela.
He added that coaches without requisite badges were also prohibited from entering the field during warm-up.
a�?We have also noted with dismay that some clubs are still utilising the services of unqualified medical personnel. Let me explicitly state that only qualified medical doctors and physiotherapists are allowed to sit on the bench,a�? Gwesela said.
Issuing of player licences and those of the technical teams was delayed by the transition from the manual registration system to an online platform known as Zimbabwe Connect. .
Online Reporter