Bunjira warns Zifa over Infantino

By Allen Khumalo

Former Zimbabwe international, Alois Bunjira, has warned Zifa against overly beating its chest for hosting Fifa president Gianni Infantino last month and instead focus on development issues, following the national Under-20 team’s failure to qualify for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations in Zambia.

The continental youth tournament is presently underway in Lusaka and Ndola, with South Africa being the only other team from southern Africa competing with Egypt, Cameroon, Guinea, Mali, Senegal and Sudan.

The tournament will also see all four semi-finalists qualifying for the 2017 Fifa Under-20 World Cup finals to be held in South Korea in May.

The Young Warriors were booted out in the qualifiers by Cameroon after losing 0-2 on aggregate in the first round.

Bunjira took to his Facebook timeline to express his heartbreak of watching South Africa and Zambia taking part in the Caf Under-20 Championships.

“While we are happy to have hosted the (Fifa) president in our own country and we are happy with the push for (Caf president Issa) Hayatou to be voted out of office, (but) we should not lose focus of what is happening here at home. We still don’t have an Under-17 and Under-20 national teams. It breaks my heart to watch South Africa and Zambia taking part in the Caf Under-20 Championships underway in Zambia, while we are sitting here wondering when we last participated in the Under-17 or Under-20 Championships. And we have the nerve to declare that we are a better footballing nation than SA and Zambia. Do we even match them for passion?” Bunjira’s post read.

The Caps United legend also said the move by Zifa to appoint a new national team coach, with the 2019 Afcon qualifiers less than three months away will have dire consequences.

Following the disappointing showing by the Warriors in this year’s Afcon tournament held in Gabon, the senior team will be hoping to turn around their fortunes in the qualifiers in which they have been drawn in Group G with DR Congo, Congo Republic and Liberia.

Bunjira said it is high time Zifa worked hard to develop the game instead of just highlighting its pride.

“We really need to change our mentality and start working really hard for the development of the game here…minus misplaced pride. We may have been better sometime back (debatable), but certainly not now. Having said all that, while we do what we do, we should remember that the 2019 Afcon qualifiers are starting in June. That is only three months from now and we still don’t have a coach. I feel for the coming coach though because we will demand results in June. Actually, we expect the coach to do well in the finals in Cameroon in 2019.

“Qualification is a must. I can guarantee everyone that in that team we won’t have a boy under the age of 20 because we just don’t have football for that age group in this country. How sad is that? And we talk football development and talk of the future. I think we are a nation in footballing turmoil and a bleak future and it makes me feel sad. I hope we won’t be running around like ana Dzunguman (madmen) when the days approach. We still have three months and that is not much time, but at least it is enough,” Bunjira wrote. The Chronicle