Warriors troop into camp for Cosafa Cup

By Petros Kausiyo

ZIMBABWE’S preparations for the Cosafa Castle Challenge Cup moved into gear yesterday with the Warriors trooping into camp in Harare ahead of the start of the regional tournament on October 17.

Sunday Chidzambwa’s men will begin their campaign to win the Cosafa Castle Challenge Cup on home soil when they date Mauritius in the main game on the opening day of the two-week festival at Rufaro.

They will then face Lesotho at the same venue two days later in a Group A that looks set to have three teams following indications by Tanzania that they will not be in a position to send a team to the tournament.

Yesterday, the enlarged 33-member squad began trooping into camp after the players fulfilled the weekend’s BancABC Sup8r Cup final and Premiership commitments with their respective clubs.

The quartet of midfielders Elvis Meleka and Pride Tafirenyika and defenders David Kutyauripo and Daniel Vheremu of Shooting Stars featured for their club in the BancABC Sup8r final against Lengthens at Rufaro, albeit on a 2-1 losing cause, to the Happy People.

Bustling striker Nyasha Mushekwi, set to earn his first Warriors cap, Tafadzwa Rusike, Gilbert Mapemba, Method Mwanjali and big goalkeeper Edmore Sibanda played for CAPS United in Makepekepe’s 2-0 Premiership triumph over Highway at Sakubva.

Highlanders, Kiglon, Bantu Rovers and Monomotapa’s players who were also in Premiership action for their teams were part of the squad that began assembling at Zifa House at lunchtime yesterday.

It is the first time that the Warriors are back together since their hastily assembled international friendly against Lesotho at Barbourfields on August 12.

Dynamos’ defender Guthrie Zhokinyu rose from the bench in the second period to find the Warriors equaliser in the encounter, which finished 1-1.

But for that match, the Warriors just assembled on the eve of the game and did not train together.

Zhokinyu, a surviving member of the African Nations Championships in Cote d’Ivoire, is also part of the big squad that coach Chidzambwa and his lieutenants — Joey Antipas and Emmanuel Nyahuma — will be working with during the 10-day training camp.

The Warriors will, however, have to make do with just a training camp amid revelations that there will be no international warm-up game for them before they plunge into Cosafa Castle Challenge Cup action.

Zifa chief executive Henrietta Rushwaya said they had been hoping that an international friendly between the Warriors and Qatar, which had been pencilled in for Harare on October 14, would materialise.

But that game has since been called off which means the Warriors are only likely to play local club sides should their coaches decide to arrange a warm-up game before their opening group game.

“We cannot afford to have the national team travelling out of the country now. I think they will have to arrange internal matches. I don’t think there will be any break-up of camp from now until the tournament starts.

“The proposed friendly with Qatar, which should have taken place on October 14 when camp would have started, has fallen away which means that practically it would be now difficult for us to send the squad out of the country and then expect them to be back in time for the opening ceremony and their first game.

“We believe the 10 days they will have should still be enough for them to prepare,’’ Rushwaya said.

Although the Zifa chief executive indicated that there was likely to be no break in camp, she said Dynamos and CAPS United players would be released in order for them to take part in their teams’ Challenge Cup showdown at Rufaro on Sunday.

The Cosafa Castle Challenge Cup Local Organising Committee have indicated that they would want to use that derby Challenge clash as a dry run for the tournament by testing the preparedness of the security, transport and all the other logistical requirements needed to be put in place for the regional competition.

Despite reporting for the Warriors camp yesterday, Dynamos, Gunners and Shooting Stars players have also been allowed to train with their respective clubs ahead of their mid-week Premiership fixtures.

DeMbare will host Hwange at Rufaro tomorrow, the same day that pacesetters Gunners face Shooting Stars in a Harare derby tie at Gwanzura.

“The arrangement that has been put in place is that those teams that have league games will be allowed to have their players for training.

“So after reporting for camp, the players will train with their respective clubs and then go back to the national team camp until they have played their league games,’’ said PSL fixtures secretary Godfrey Japajapa.

In the only league match scheduled for the weekend, champions Monoz, who have the quartet of skipper Mthulisi Maphosa, Chris Semakweri, Asani Nhongo and Tawanda Nyamandwe in the squad, will travel to Kwekwe for a rescheduled Week 23 date against basement club Black Rhinos at Baghdad on Sunday. TH