Augustine Hwata Senior Sports Reporter THE Zimbabwe Warriors’ elimination from the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations has sparked nationwide outrag...
Augustine Hwata Senior Sports Reporter
THE Zimbabwe Warriors’ elimination from the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations has sparked nationwide outrage with pressure being exerted on Zifa president Cuthbert Dube to quit his post after the latest humiliation under his watch.
The Warriors fell to a surprise defeat, at the hands of Tanzania, to crash out of the Nations Cup, at the first hurdle, for only the second time in their history.
It’s the fourth big tournament that the Warriors have plunged into, since Dube took over as leader of domestic football, and on all occasions they have struggled to make an impact.
Even when they were presented with a golden opportunity to just beat two teams, and take their place at the 2015 Nations Cup finals, the Warriors still came short and followed that up with their worst World Cup campaign in history where they failed to win even a single game on the Road to Brazil.
Sport, Arts and Culture Minister Andrew Langa apologised to the nation when he addressed a media conference yesterday.
“I want apologise for what happened at the National Sports Stadium yesterday (Sunday). Remember that we played Tanzania two weeks ago and we went down 1-0 in their home stadium,” Langa said.
“So, as they came to Zimbabwe, we ensured that we made all the necessary preparations and mobilised all our support for the Warriors. Everyone decided to go and support our national team and many were following the action on radio and television.
“As a Ministry we thank all those who came to the National Sports Stadium, especially our Senior Minister SK Moyo, Cabinet Ministers, Members of Parliament and Senate from across the political divide, the Mayor of Harare and the fans.
“We also had our soccer legends like John Phiri and Peter Ndlovu who came to support our national team and expected a win and I believe that they deserved it. We thank them for coming and I am sorry for the disappointment.
“Unfortunately the result that we realised was not what we had expected as Zimbabweans and I want to to say to all fellow Zimbabweans, that we are sorry for the result.
“Yes, we received the support from the fans but our performance was not up to the expectations. Maybe we are still yet to hear from Ian Gorowa as to what happened but I am not blaming anyone here.”
Zimbabwe National Soccer Supporters Association leader, Eddie “Mboma” Nyatanga said the honourable thing for Dube to do would be to resign.
“When you have been the leader in four big tournaments and the result is the same and, in fact, it’s getting even worse, I think the best thing for one to do, if you are a true leader, is to hand in your resignation,” said Nyatanga.
“We have changed coaches and I think Ian is the seventh we have employed, if I’m not mistaken, since Dube became the president of Zifa but the results have continued to get worse and worse because the administration is not playing its part.
“We had problems in camp with players refusing to train, on the eve of the match, because of money and this was also the case at CHAN and we lost that game against Libya and we seem not to have learnt any lessons from that.
“Of course, the economy is not in good shape but Dube promised us that he had dozens of sponsors but we are yet to see even one and given the controversy that now follows him, after what happened at PSMAS and ZBC, it’s unlikely that any sponsors will now come on board.
“For the first time we will not have international football for two years and if Zifa are there to take care of our national teams and there is no national team football to talk about, can we still continue having them in those positions?
“The Government should just come in and dissolve the entire Zifa board and we will be punished by Fifa but it’s the same because already we are out of international football for two years and we can bring in some new faces who can lead our football in an interim basis.
“Our other big problem with Dube is that for everything that he says he is doing for the team, he somehow doesn’t have the courtesy to come and support the team when it plays its international matches and we didn’t see him again on Sunday.
“Football cannot be run by remote control, you need to be there in the trenches and the players also want to see their leader coming to shake their hand just before the match and giving them support at the stadium and not at a lodge where they will be camped.”
Nyatanga said while the Zifa leaders have found it easy to get councillors to vote for them, finding the right formula to turn the Warriors into a success story was a different and more difficult task.
“The biggest story that the media hasn’t explored adequately is the way Zifa abused our Young Warriors and they ended up being banned from international football, how then do you develop a competitive national team when you are not exposing the Under-17s and the Under-20s to international football?” Nyatanga asked.
“That should have been enough for Zifa to be dissolved but we appear to have celebrated it and now we are in the doldrums.”
Veteran football administrator, Francis Zimunya, said Dube had to take responsibility for the “mess that our football finds itself in.”
“Cuthbert Dube’s record since he took over as the Zifa boss tells us that we are not progressing as a football nation but we are nose-diving at an alarming rate and the sooner that he leaves that post, or is even forced out, the better for our game,” said Zimunya.
“He doesn’t have the confidence of the players because they have seen promises being broken left, right and centre and even the little boys who played at CHAN were ‘robbed’ of what they earned by his association.
“How can you have a leader who is in charge of your football who doesn’t come to watch the matches and we are talking about a very big international like the one that we had on Sunday?”
Football fans, too, were scathing in their condemnation.
“And the billboards will read, ‘Probably the worst Warriors team ever,’” said Ignatius Nyoni. “I used to side with Gorowa but the man has been exposed. How can we fail to win against a team of Tanzania’s calibre at home?
“Cuthbert Dube must shoulder the blame for this poor, poor show. He frustrated (Sunday) Chidzambwa before muscling out (Norman) Mapeza from the national team. Gorowa hapana.”
Another fan, Thabani McGuci, said football administrators had let the nation down.
“I don’t know where to start but when a fish rots, it starts from the head, this is the case with our soccer administration, Zifa actually uninspired our warriors instead of supporting them.
“Cuthbert Dube reminds me of politicians who always shake our hands when canvassing for votes and then shake our confidence after.
“He is nowhere to be seen in the picture, there is no proper plan and roadmap in place, we are always dropping in rankings, our soccer is once again taking on a nosedive.
“Ian Gorowa is a good coach, but I doubt if there is anything outstanding about him. He is trying his best but here is a coach who has been thrown by fate into the mix probably because Zifa cannot afford a suitably qualified coach potent enough to make a difference with our soccer.”
THE Zimbabwe Warriors’ elimination from the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations has sparked nationwide outrage with pressure being exerted on Zifa president Cuthbert Dube to quit his post after the latest humiliation under his watch.
The Warriors fell to a surprise defeat, at the hands of Tanzania, to crash out of the Nations Cup, at the first hurdle, for only the second time in their history.
It’s the fourth big tournament that the Warriors have plunged into, since Dube took over as leader of domestic football, and on all occasions they have struggled to make an impact.
 |
| Call for Cuthbert Dube’s head |
Even when they were presented with a golden opportunity to just beat two teams, and take their place at the 2015 Nations Cup finals, the Warriors still came short and followed that up with their worst World Cup campaign in history where they failed to win even a single game on the Road to Brazil.
Sport, Arts and Culture Minister Andrew Langa apologised to the nation when he addressed a media conference yesterday.
“I want apologise for what happened at the National Sports Stadium yesterday (Sunday). Remember that we played Tanzania two weeks ago and we went down 1-0 in their home stadium,” Langa said.
“So, as they came to Zimbabwe, we ensured that we made all the necessary preparations and mobilised all our support for the Warriors. Everyone decided to go and support our national team and many were following the action on radio and television.
“As a Ministry we thank all those who came to the National Sports Stadium, especially our Senior Minister SK Moyo, Cabinet Ministers, Members of Parliament and Senate from across the political divide, the Mayor of Harare and the fans.
“We also had our soccer legends like John Phiri and Peter Ndlovu who came to support our national team and expected a win and I believe that they deserved it. We thank them for coming and I am sorry for the disappointment.
“Unfortunately the result that we realised was not what we had expected as Zimbabweans and I want to to say to all fellow Zimbabweans, that we are sorry for the result.
“Yes, we received the support from the fans but our performance was not up to the expectations. Maybe we are still yet to hear from Ian Gorowa as to what happened but I am not blaming anyone here.”
Zimbabwe National Soccer Supporters Association leader, Eddie “Mboma” Nyatanga said the honourable thing for Dube to do would be to resign.
“When you have been the leader in four big tournaments and the result is the same and, in fact, it’s getting even worse, I think the best thing for one to do, if you are a true leader, is to hand in your resignation,” said Nyatanga.
“We have changed coaches and I think Ian is the seventh we have employed, if I’m not mistaken, since Dube became the president of Zifa but the results have continued to get worse and worse because the administration is not playing its part.
“We had problems in camp with players refusing to train, on the eve of the match, because of money and this was also the case at CHAN and we lost that game against Libya and we seem not to have learnt any lessons from that.
“Of course, the economy is not in good shape but Dube promised us that he had dozens of sponsors but we are yet to see even one and given the controversy that now follows him, after what happened at PSMAS and ZBC, it’s unlikely that any sponsors will now come on board.
“For the first time we will not have international football for two years and if Zifa are there to take care of our national teams and there is no national team football to talk about, can we still continue having them in those positions?
“The Government should just come in and dissolve the entire Zifa board and we will be punished by Fifa but it’s the same because already we are out of international football for two years and we can bring in some new faces who can lead our football in an interim basis.
“Our other big problem with Dube is that for everything that he says he is doing for the team, he somehow doesn’t have the courtesy to come and support the team when it plays its international matches and we didn’t see him again on Sunday.
“Football cannot be run by remote control, you need to be there in the trenches and the players also want to see their leader coming to shake their hand just before the match and giving them support at the stadium and not at a lodge where they will be camped.”
Nyatanga said while the Zifa leaders have found it easy to get councillors to vote for them, finding the right formula to turn the Warriors into a success story was a different and more difficult task.
“The biggest story that the media hasn’t explored adequately is the way Zifa abused our Young Warriors and they ended up being banned from international football, how then do you develop a competitive national team when you are not exposing the Under-17s and the Under-20s to international football?” Nyatanga asked.
“That should have been enough for Zifa to be dissolved but we appear to have celebrated it and now we are in the doldrums.”
Veteran football administrator, Francis Zimunya, said Dube had to take responsibility for the “mess that our football finds itself in.”
“Cuthbert Dube’s record since he took over as the Zifa boss tells us that we are not progressing as a football nation but we are nose-diving at an alarming rate and the sooner that he leaves that post, or is even forced out, the better for our game,” said Zimunya.
“He doesn’t have the confidence of the players because they have seen promises being broken left, right and centre and even the little boys who played at CHAN were ‘robbed’ of what they earned by his association.
“How can you have a leader who is in charge of your football who doesn’t come to watch the matches and we are talking about a very big international like the one that we had on Sunday?”
Football fans, too, were scathing in their condemnation.
“And the billboards will read, ‘Probably the worst Warriors team ever,’” said Ignatius Nyoni. “I used to side with Gorowa but the man has been exposed. How can we fail to win against a team of Tanzania’s calibre at home?
“Cuthbert Dube must shoulder the blame for this poor, poor show. He frustrated (Sunday) Chidzambwa before muscling out (Norman) Mapeza from the national team. Gorowa hapana.”
Another fan, Thabani McGuci, said football administrators had let the nation down.
“I don’t know where to start but when a fish rots, it starts from the head, this is the case with our soccer administration, Zifa actually uninspired our warriors instead of supporting them.
“Cuthbert Dube reminds me of politicians who always shake our hands when canvassing for votes and then shake our confidence after.
“He is nowhere to be seen in the picture, there is no proper plan and roadmap in place, we are always dropping in rankings, our soccer is once again taking on a nosedive.
“Ian Gorowa is a good coach, but I doubt if there is anything outstanding about him. He is trying his best but here is a coach who has been thrown by fate into the mix probably because Zifa cannot afford a suitably qualified coach potent enough to make a difference with our soccer.”
- Advertisement -
- Advertisement -
The information is provided by PaHarare Exptreme using online sources and while we endeavour to keep the information up to date and correct, we make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the website or the information, products, services, or related graphics contained on the website for any purpose.
Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk.
- Advertisement -
