Adidas brands Kudakwashe Mahachi

By Petros Kausiyo

Zimbabwe winger Kuda Mahachi wants the Warriors to ease the pressure by securing a positive result on the road when they face Tanzania in a 2015 Nations Cup first round, first leg preliminary round qualifier in Dar es Salaam.

The Warriors will begin their quest for a place at the Morocco 2015 Nations Cup tournament by dating the Taifa Stars in the opening round at the National Stadium in Dar es Salaam on Sunday.

Tanzania Football Federation had wanted to switch the game to the border town of Mbeya, 829km south-west of Dar es Salaam, but the Sokoine Memorial Stadium, which they had earmarked for the encounter, failed to pass a Caf test at the weekend with the continental soccer body ruling that the match be staged at the National Stadium in the capital.

It is the first time that the Warriors will be playing a competitive game since finishing fourth at the African Nations Championships in Cape Town on February 1 but Mahachi — one of the stars of that show — believes they have not lost any of their touch as the players have been involved with their club commitments since the start of the 2014 season.

Mahachi yesterday received a morale booster when international sportswear giant Adidas took him on board as one of the company’s brand ambassadors on the domestic football scene.

The 20-year-old forward, on loan at Highlanders from newly-crowned South African champions Mamelodi Sundowns, will now use Adidas boots and equipment for training and matches for both club and country.

Mahachi was presented with the boots and some of the equipment by Adidas’ local agent Edzai Kasinauyo     at a brief function in the capital yesterday.

The former Chicken Inn man reckoned that the Adidas deal would inspire him to raise his game for both club and country and revealed his willingness to be part of the Nations Cup jamboree.

“This is the first time in my career that I have had some personal sponsorship deal and I want to thank Edzai for facilitating this,” said Mahachi.

“I am happy to be associated with Adidas because it is a big brand around the world and I think this deal will help me to take my game to another level.”

The slippery forward also paid tribute to Warriors coach Ian Gorowa for keeping faith in him by including him in the Nations Cup squad.

“The AFCON is bigger than CHAN and there are so many players in Zimbabwe who could have been picked so for me it is a privilege to be selected by the coach,” said Mahachi.

“Now that I have played at the CHAN I want to do my best to help my country qualify for the AFCON because there is no doubt that the AFCON is bigger.

“That is where you get all the big names playing and I would want to be part of that experience but for now we have to focus on Tanzania and try to get past them.

“When we played them I noticed that they are a good side who play as a team and they have very good support at home and it seems like it is normally hot there.

“So we have to work hard as a team just like we were doing at CHAN and we have to make sure we either win or draw there so that we do not have a lot of pressure when we come back and play at home.

“I am also happy that we are starting away from home, which will obviously take some pressure away from us as we get to play together again.”

Mahachi, however, said he was aware that the Warriors face a long qualification route as they have to play two preliminary knock-out rounds before they can into the Group F round robin marathon.

Having been part of the Warriors outfit that played a goalless draw against the Taifa Stars in a friendly international in Dar es Salaam last year, Mahachi said he had also noted some strong points about Tanzania which he felt makes the East Africans to “deserve some respect’’.

Despite reserving some respect for the Taifa Stars, Mahachi believes the Warriors should have the edge and believes the coming in of more experienced players like Cuthbert Malajila would strengthen them.

“I think the CHAN helped us to be a unit and it is good that there are some experienced players like Willard Katsande and Cuthbert Malajila coming into the team.

“I think they will guide us on how to handle the pressure of such games,’’ Mahachi said.

The CHAN squad poster boy also saluted the Bosso fans for helping him to settle at the Bulawayo giants where he has already begun making waves.

“I was surprised by the warm reception I got from the Highlanders fans.

“I did not start very well but I think I am settling down and I have been improving in every game but obviously when you get such deals like the Adidas one you want to also do well for the country and play at such tournaments like AFCON,’’ Mahachi said.

Kasinauyo said Mahachi was one of few local players who will be taken on board by Adidas this year.

The former Zimbabwe international and Harare businessman said although Adidas have kit deal sponsorships with Dynamos and Highlanders, the deals over the players would not be restricted to just those from the two clubs.

“With this assistance Adidas hope that they can help the players to grow with the brand and also go on to represent their country.

“They are already doing their bit to help Dynamos and Highlanders but for the players it is not limited to those from the two clubs only . . . it is for any player who has the quality and the potential that can match the Adidas expectations.

“It must also be understood that this is Adidas’ first time to be in the country in this kind of deal so they will continue to assess and see the areas where they can help our game to improve and they will review the partnership with the players after a year.

“As for Mahachi, he will be expected to represent the brand in terms of how he behaves and this will also help him to approach the game with a different mentality in order for the support to grow into more than what is it now,’’ Kasinauyo said. The Herald