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Omega Sibanda

Grace Chingoma Senior Sports Reporter
ZIFA vice president Omega Sibanda says the association aren’t in a rush to appoint a coaching staff for the Warriors and believes they have time on their side to choose the right people for the job.

The Warriors have been without a head coach since the end of February. They begin their 2019 Nations Cup qualifiers with a home date against Liberia in June and Sibanda says the country should give the ZIFA leadership the time they need to ensure they get the right people to lead the team.

On Sunday, Norman Mapeza was in charge of the home-based Warriors on an interim basis and led his charges to a goalless draw against Zambia.

The Warriors have now gone four games without defeat to their northern neighbours.

Zambia said they were using the match to assess the team which will represent them in the CHAN battles although the inclusion of Mamelodi Sundowns goalkeeper Kennedy Mweene suggests there was more to their game plan.

Mweene, a 2012 Nations Cup winner, is ineligible to play for the CHAN team as he is based in South Africa. Sibanda said ZIFA will not make a rushed decision.

ZIFA president Philip Chiyangwa revealed they have received more than 600 applications from around the world for the Warriors’ top job.

“We are not in a rush. We have fulfilled our friendly match requirements and we are happy. Our next game is months away,” said Sibanda.

“We are obviously looking at those issues (the appointment of a substantive coach). We will issue a statement as soon as possible. All is in order. We played the international friendly match and Mapeza did well.’’

South Africa are expected to announce a new coach this week.

SAFA president Danny Jordaan told Soccer Africa football magazine programme that his association will no longer hire foreign coaches who insist on coming with their assistants and fitness experts.

He said if they settle for a foreign coach, the assistant will have to be South African.

For the Warriors, after the match against the Liberians, the 2019 Nations Cup qualifiers will only resume next year in March. The home-based players will be involved in CHAN qualifiers on the weekend of July 14 to 16, with an away match against Namibia.

The return leg will be staged here the following weekend from 21 to 23.

Should the Warriors win that match, they will meet the winner between Comoros and Lesotho in August.