Zimpapers Logo

Petros Kausiyo Deputy Sports Editor
INCOMING Warriors coach Callisto Pasuwa has already begun assembling his backroom staff with the former Dynamos gaffer courting long-serving team manager Sharrif Mussa to return to the senior side’s set-up in the same capacity.

Mussa had literally been frozen out of the system following ZIFA’s announcement that they had disbanded the Warriors in the aftermath of Ian Gorowa’s resignation as coach.

The Warriors have been without a coach and haven’t played a match since that 3-2 aggregate defeat by Tanzania, which has led to their monumental slide down the FIFA World Rankings.

ZIFA have installed Pasuwa as coach although a formal announcement and the finalisation of a contract is still to be done.

Pasuwa, already racing against time to put the house in order, has begun setting up a technical crew that he believes can assist him in his bid to become only the third coach after his mentor Sunday “Mhofu’’ Chidzambwa and Charles Mhlauri to lead Zimbabwe to Africa’s flagship football competition.

Interestingly, Mussa was team liaison with Rafiq Adam the manager when Zimbabwe made their maiden bow at the Nations Cup in Tunisia in 2004 before he assumed the role of manager when Mhlauri took the Warriors to the 2006 edition in Egypt.

Now Pasuwa believes he can tap into Mussa’s experience once again as his Warriors begin their bid for a place at the 2017 tourney.

The coach confirmed yesterday that he would want Mussa back in the Warriors trenches.

“There is no doubt that Sharrif is an experienced manager and when you consider that we do not have time to experiment with someone trying to learn, you can only bank on the experienced.

“He commands respect from the players, he has a good understanding of the challenges you face as a team in African football and he has a passion to see his country succeed and I have recommended to ZIFA to bring him back,’’ Pasuwa said.

ZIFA, on their part, claim that Mussa was never dismissed when the Warriors were disbanded arguing that his job title is that of general manager of all national teams.

It was not immediately clear yesterday whether Mussa would agree to return to the fold ahead of the COSAFA tournament, which starts on May 17 in Rustenburg, South Africa.

The Warriors will be looking to use the COSAFA tournament as the start of their Nations Cup preparations whose first assignment is a clash against Malawi on June 12, just days after the regional competition ends.

Pasuwa, who has been doubling up as Under-23 coach, is also expected to announce additions to his assistants once contract talks with ZIFA are finished, amid indications that former Zimbabwe skipper and coach Misheck Chidzambwa could also bounce back into the senior side’s set-up.

Meanwhile, COSAFA have revealed that security will be tightened for the tournament in the wake of xenophobic attacks in some parts of South Africa.

COSAFA, who have also secured a second major sponsor — energy drink Power Energy — indicated that they were working with the South African Football Association and the government in that country to ensure a smooth competition.

The COSAFA tournament is returning to South Africa seven years after the event in Mambatho, which Zimbabwe then under the guidance of Mhlauri won with James Matola as captain.

COSAFA president Suketu Patel told the regional body’s website www.cosafa.com that they were thrilled to have the event back in South Africa and explained that member countries take turns to host the competition.

“COSAFA is made up of 14 countries and we like to rotate our tournaments among them as much as possible.

“South Africa has not hosted the COSAFA Cup finals series since 2008 – seven years – so it was an obvious choice.

“We want to rebuild the COSAFA Cup brand and South Africa, with its world-class facilities, is the perfect place to do that.

“We obviously saw a lot of desire from within the South African Football Association to host the event and that is a major factor in our decision-making process,’’ Patel said.

Patel said their sponsorship deals had ensured that the future of the COSAFA Cup and other regional tournaments under their auspices would be secure.

“Obviously, the challenge is to keep raising the standard of our flagship event, on and off the pitch.

“You want to not just maintain the level of the past, but see it grow as well.

“We now have not just one but two sponsors in Castle Lager and Power Horse and that is a major step forward for us and I believe will see us take this tournament to even greater heights.”

“The fact that we do not have to rely on just one sponsor but have two gives us a lot of peace of mind.

“It means that we can plan long-term and look to the future with greater certainty.

“It has been a challenging time for us in the last few years, we must acknowledge that, but things are starting to fall into place for us. That is very exciting,’’ Patel said.