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Robson Sharuko and Paul Mundandi
FC Platinum have given their coach Norman Mapeza the green light to take charge of the Warriors’ opening 2019 Nations Cup qualifier against Liberia at the National Sports Stadium next month after ZIFA came knocking asking for the gaffer to guide the senior national football team in that big game on a caretaker basis.

The Herald exclusively revealed yesterday that ZIFA had settled on Mapeza to kick-start the Warriors’ 2019 AFCON campaign against the very country that he faced — exactly seven years ago — in the first game of the national team’s 2012 Nations Cup adventure when the former Galatasaray midfielder was first handed the responsibility to lead his country.

The sticking point, though, was whether Mapeza’s employers in Zvishavane would once again release their man to coach the Warriors, the team he guided in a friendly international against Zambia recently, but FC Platinum yesterday said the coach would be allowed to serve his country once again.

ZIFA, who parted ways with Callisto Pasuwa at the end of February, say they will only appoint a substantive coach after the match against Liberia which comes nine months before the Warriors plunge into their second AFCON qualifier against Congo in Brazzaville in March next year.

FC Platinum’s decision to release Mapeza also came on the day that the South African Football Association ended their six-month search for a coach to replace Shakes Mashaba, who was relieved of his duties for insulting SAFA president Danny Jordaan in November last year, with Stuart Baxter being unveiled as the new Bafana Bafana gaffer.

Like Mapeza, the Scotsman will be having his second spell with Bafana Bafana and he will also have club commitments with SuperSport United to take care of as the deal that the Pretoria side struck with SAFA stipulates the coach will only be released after he completes his club assignments this season.

SuperSport United have home and continental assignments before the South African season officially comes to an end on July 24 next month with the staging of the Nedbank Cup final in Durban, a game in which the Pretoria side — who have a semi-final battle against Chippa United on May 20 — could also feature in.

Matsatsansa also face a congested continental fixture programme in the CAF Confederation Cup where they will face TP Mazembe of the DRC, Horoya of Guinea and Gabonese side Mounama in the next seven weeks.

‘’SAFA and SupeSport United have agreed to work together to ensure that Baxter gets time off post the final league match on 27 May to prepare Bafana Bafana for the upcoming AFCON match against Nigeria,’’ a statement from SuperSport United said.

‘’The Senior Men’s National Team takes on the Super Eagles on the weekend of 9-11 June in Nigeria.’’

Club chief executive Stanley Matthews said Baxter’s focus, right now, would remain with Supersport United who want to retain the Nedbank Cup and also finish in the top four in the league championship.

“We obviously did not want to lose Stuart as our coach. He has done a great job in getting us to the competitive level we expect as a Club, however, we also understand that Stuart would like to have a final go at competing at a FIFA World Cup and that would be a fantastic achievement for the country as a whole,” said Matthews.

“But right now our focus, and that of Stuart’s, has to be on a strong finish to the League, becoming the first club to retain the Nedbank Cup and to fight our way through the group stages of the CAF Confederation Cup. So we are glad this matter is now settled and we can all focus on the job at hand which is meeting our football targets for this season and planning ahead for next season.”

SAFA chief executive, Dennis Mumble, paid tribute to SuperSport United.

“We are pleased to have finally reached (an) agreement with SuperSport United on the release of Coach Baxter. SAFA believes that the coach has the necessary skills to navigate the tough qualification path for the Africa Cup of Nations and the FIFA World Cup.

‘’We thank SuperSport United for their support towards the goals of the Association and its national teams.”

And, across the Limpopo, FC Platinum also announced yesterday they will release Mapeza to take charge of the Warriors’ Nations Cup qualifier against Liberia.

“ZIFA have not communicated with us officially and once they do we will respond accordingly. It is a national call up and there is no way we will say no,’’ club spokesperson Chido Chizondo told The Herald.

‘’We play our football in Zimbabwe and not in Algeria or Guniea and as long we are here we can’t say no to ZIFA. The national team comes first and, as FC Platinum, we are always ready to chip in for the good of our country.’’

Mapeza has chosen to overlook the money that he is owed by ZIFA, for services rendered to the Warriors when the Association was led by Cuthbert Dube, to serve his nation once again.

FC Platinum have on a number of occasions come to the rescue of ZIFA, in the past, when it comes to the national teams.

They once sponsored a trip for the Young Warriors after a bankrupt ZIFA failed to raise the funds for the Under-17 side to fulfil their international commitment.

ZIFA have defended the use of a coach, who is tied to a local club, saying that the DRC — who are also in the same AFCON group as Zimbabwe — have thrived under such an arrangement with AS Vita gaffer, Florent Ibenge, doubling up as national team coach.