The Zifa Normalisation Committee has made an embarrassing U-turn, officially calling off the proposed friendly match against neighbouring Botswana, which it had announced 24 hours earlier.
In a latest of the several boobs that they have made in the short time they have been in charge of domestic football, the normalisation commitee announced on Tuesday morning that a Warriors squad made up of both local and foreign based players will play Botswana in an international friendly on Saturday at the National Sports Stadium in Harare.
The match was scheduled to kick-off at 3pm as the country sought to make use of the last Fifa international break to prepare for next month’s 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Rwanda and Nigeria next month.
However, it turned out that the normalisation committee led by Lincoln Mutasa had not spoken to their Botswana counterparts with the neighbours having already fixed a home friendly match against Eswatini which will take place at Lobatse Sports Complex on Monday, as part of their preparations for the World Cup qualifiers.
Botswana Football Association chief executive Mfolo Mfolo dismissed reports of a friendly match with Zimbabwe.
“We do not have any agreement to play Zimbabwe,” he told the local media.
The embarrassing gaffe resulted in Zifa making a climbdown on their earlier communication.
“Zifa advises all football stakeholders that our planned international friendly match against Botswana has been cancelled due to circumstances beyond our control. The association sincerely regrets all inconveniences that this unfortunate development has caused to all our stakeholders,” Zifa said.
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Mutasa’s committee has come under heavy criticism in recent months for the decision to dismiss key members of the secretariat, namely acting secretary-general Xolisani Gwesela, manager of the national team Wellington Mpandare, and technical director Wilson Mtekede.
Such gaffes could not have happened under the watch of the experienced Gwesela.
This is the same normalisation committee that was not aware that the country’s stadia have been banned from hosting international matches and still has no alternative venue has been secured for next month’s home match against Nigeria.
“The training camp for the Warriors will still go ahead until the end of the international break. This will give the technical team more time to assess their options ahead of crucial Fifa World Cup qualifiers against Rwanda and Nigeria in November,” the association said before naming the team which will go into camp.
The squad includes local players and those who are playing outside the country but none of the British Brigade have been called in.
Munashe Garanganga, who plays for Sheriff Tiraspol in Moldova, is the only player plying his trade in Europe who has been called for assessment while the majority of the foreign-based footballers are currently based in South Africa.
Some of the big names who could be making a return to the national team include fullback Ronald Pfumbidzayi, his teammate at Supersport United in South Africa Washington Arubi, and Terrence Dzvukamanja.
Golden Arrows’ pair of Knox Mutizwa and Devine Lunga, Tatenda Tavengwa (Venda Football Academy) and Never Tigere of Ihefu FC in Tanzania complete the line-up of foreign-based players which the technical team led by Baltemar Brito wants to assess.
Zimbabwe are in Group C for the World Cup qualifiers alongside Nigeria, South Africa, Rwanda, Benin and Lesotho.
They kick-off their campaign against Rwanda away from home on November 13 before hosting Nigeria seven days later.
