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Bruce Chikuni

SOUTH AFRICAN Football Association officials have approached Douglas Mapfumo’s camp offering to facilitate paperwork that would make him eligible for the senior national team.

Mapfumo’s father, Victor, confirmed the developments saying his son could make himself available for Bafana Bafana.

The 24-year-old striker grabbed a brace for Polokwane City in their 2-3 loss to Royal AM in the DStv Premiership on Sunday to take his tally to five goals in this campaign. 

He has netted more times than his teammate Oswin Appollis, who is now seemingly a permanent figure in Bafana Bafana squad.

Victor confirmed to Zimpapers Sport that he had been approached by some officials from SAFA although his son still believes he is the Warriors’ next big forward.

“I think Douglas has done everything to force his name in the Warriors squad, but only those who are in charge know why he is not being considered. 

“I have been approached by top officials from SAFA, who are advising me to allow my son to switch nationality since he is qualified to do so.

“But, Douglas is still dreaming of playing for the Warriors and he has informed me that he will try to score as many goals as possible to get the recognition,” said Victor.

“But, chances are very high that he might consider making himself available for Bafana Bafana as its everyone’s dream to play for the national team.

“Each time he performs well for Polokwane City, the pressure becomes unbearable and my fear is sooner or later, he is going to give up on his dream to play for Zimbabwe.

“He is desperate and hungry to be part and parcel of the Warriors but his mother has been insisting to wait for God’s time,” he added.

The player is not focusing on what might be the reason he is being overlooked for Warriors duty.

“I can only be considered as a better striker by scoring frequently whenever I get the privilege to play. The DStv Premiership is arguably the best league in Africa and I feel so blessed to be playing and scoring in this league. My objective is to score 10 times or more and I know that will help my team to remain in this league,” said Mapfumo.

Lazarus Muhoni’s son, Royce, is also on SAFA’s radar and he has already started featuring for the Mzansi’s Under-15 and Under-17s.