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Cuthbert Dube

Eddie Chikamhi Sports Reporter—
ZIFA president Cuthbert Dube has urged the Warriors to continue with the fighting spirit which earned them a top four finish at the recent CHAN tournament, as they begin their 2015 Nations Cup campaign in Tanzania tomorrow. The Warriors, who take on the East Africans at the National Stadium in Dar es Salaam tomorrow, left the country yesterday for the assignment high in confidence.

The association hosted a send-off ceremony for the team at Daisy Lodge in Harare on the eve of their departure and Dube said the team needed everyone’s support, as he challenged the Government and the corporate world to chip in with resources.

Dube said the Warriors created memories at CHAN where they forced their way into the semi-finals and has challenged the players to evoke the same spirit of success.
“The Warriors’ show in South Africa kept the entire nation glued to the television sets as the Warriors showed their pedigree,” said Dube.

“We still owe the Warriors a big homecoming party which should see us decorating our Warriors.
“We need to play like Warriors throughout the tournament. I urge the Warriors to continue from where they left off in South Africa. We wish the team a safe trip and a good result in Tanzania will bring bigger things into our campaign.

“The 2015 Africa Cup of Nations will be a long trip which will see us play Tanzania over two weekends before engaging either Mozambique or South Sudan in September.

“The long march shall require a lot of resources and we implore the corporate world and the Government to rally behind the 2015 Afcon project, which if well-resourced, is not insurmountable.”

The Warriors were seen off at the Harare International Airport by officials from the Zifa office, led by chief executive Jonathan Mashingaidze, board members John Phiri and Fungai Chihuri.

Phiri, a former Warriors skipper, and Chihuri encouraged the players to stay focused on qualifying for the finals to be held in Morocco early next year when they addressed the players shortly before departure.

“The journey begins now and it’s going to be a very long ride. It’s important to realise that it will not be easy as well; so it will need men of steel,’ said Chihuri.
“You must be strong. Our goal is to go to the finals in Morocco. The whole nation is behind you. So let’s remain focused, let’s concentrate on the game and let’s go there for a positive result.

“That, at least, will make our life easier in the return leg when we meet them here in Zimbabwe. So we wish you well and may God guide and protect us.”