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Temba Mliswa

Robson Sharuko Senior Sports Editor
FORMER Warriors’ fitness coach Temba Mliswa has challenged the country’s football community to use the historic victory over Zambia in Ndola as the revival pad of a national game that has been crying out for such a refreshing breath of fresh air.The 41-year-old, who has also been involved in coaching rugby and tennis in this country in the past, is one of a battery of politicians, with a strong sporting background, who have walked into the House of Assembly.
Mliswa won his ticket to become one of the country’s lawmakers after capturing the Hurungwe West constituency, on a Zanu-PF ticket, in the recent harmonised elections.

Yesterday, Mliswa said he had been bowled over by the Warriors’ historic win in Zambia, in an African Championship of Nations qualifier, the first loss by Chipolopolo at their Levy Mwanawasa fortress and a first defeat in Ndola, in an international match, since 1968.
“I have to say that Dibango got us an excellent result in Zambia, absolutely brilliant result, a victory that made all of us proud to call ourselves Zimbabweans and, for doing that, the coach deserves to be saluted by all of us,” said Mliswa.

“It felt good to see a technical team, made up entirely of Zimbabwean coaches, putting together a winning formula, in Zambia of all places, and upstaging the French coaching connection in that country which, I’m told, cost a combined US$100 000 a month in salaries only.
“I think because we have suffered so much, as a football community, we didn’t know how to react when a very good result finally came away and I’m not sure that it has sunk in yet that a group of our players, all based in this country, had the heart and courage to go and play in Zambia and come out with a win.

“I don’t know whether we really know the significance of this victory but I know that it is very special and I think we can use it to re-launch our football but for that to happen we all need to be united, we need to pull in one direction, and try to build rather than destroy.

“There should be no space, whatsoever, for fighting and we should look at moving in one direction with all the focus being on building our competitive teams and here I’m including the junior national teams because without us developing those teams, we won’t succeed.”
Mliswa said the Government needed to play a huge role, going forward from now, to help Zimbabwe football.

“There is no question that the Government has to come in and play a part in the funding of all the structures that hold together our football, both in terms of the short-term and long-term goals that we have to set for ourselves,” said Mliswa.

“The private sector, too, and I’m talking here about all the major companies that operate in this country, just can’t just fold their arms and watch from a distance when the people’s game needs their helping hand and their clients, who are keeping those companies afloat, are also big football fans.

“We need to turn our football into a tsunami that will shake Africa and the starting point should be on building on what we achieved in Zambia at the weekend and I’m pretty sure that we have the players, and the fans to make it possible, to turn ourselves into a very formidable force again.

“If Gorowa and his group of locally-based players can go into Ndola, of all places, and come out with a victory, it shows that we have that quality within us to do well because that wasn’t a fluke result, for the third time in our meetings with the Zambians inside the last month, we outplayed them.

“There is this wave that is spreading around this country, especially after the elections, that we are not just ordinary people, we are a special group of people, and when we are pushed into a corner we show our true qualities and our big victory on the political front has just brought this feel-good factor and even our national athletes have found their winning touch again.

“Someone was telling me, a few moments ago, that even our national cricket team won for the first time against Pakistan in about 15 years, and I said it’s now all about that wave I’ve been talking about.”

Mliswa said Zifa’s reliance on its president, Cuthbert Dube, to provide the funding for its operations was unsustainable.
“We have to change all that because this is a national association and the Warriors are a national team and you can’t have such key football institutions in this country being financed by just one man because, as we all know, that is not sustainable in the long run,” said Mliswa.

“Zifa have to draw up their budget and this should include the funding they need for revival of the junior structures right up to the servicing of the national teams and that budget can then be taken to the sponsors and the Government who can see where they can also come in and play a part.”