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Shariff Mussa

Petros Kausiyo Deputy Sports Editor
ZIMBABWE’S Warriors, eager to make an impact at the third African Nations Championships, have lined up an ambitious programme in which they will shift their base to South Africa for a three-week intensive camp. The Warriors will be one of only three countries that will be making a third successive appearance at the CHAN finals when the tournament bursts into life in South Africa on January 11 and will end on February 1.

Cape Town, Mongaung (Bloemfontein ) and Polokwane will be the host cities with the Warriors being based in the Mother City where they will be the top seeds in a Group B that includes Burkina Faso, Morocco and Uganda.

On their previous two appearances, the Warriors failed to go beyond the group stages and yesterday their team manager Shariff Mussa said they wanted to change the way they prepare for the competition in order to make an impact.

Mussa was in South Africa at the weekend to attend a CHAN familiarisation and team workshop organised by Caf and the tournament’s Local Organising Committee.

The Warriors manager, who was in the company of Zifa chief executive Jonathan Mashingaidze and the association’s competitions manager Weston Mabhande, revealed yesterday that coach Ian Gorowa had outlined a grand plan which he believes will ensure Zimbabwe would be adequately prepared by the time the tournament starts.

Gorowa’s men will kick-start their bid for honours with a clash against Morocco at Athlone Stadium in Cape Town, a day after hosts South Africa, who will be using Greenpoint in the same city, would have played against Mozambique in a Group A opener.

Mussa said there was the need for government, the corporate world and individuals to provide the senior side with the resources that would enable Gorowa to prepare his men for a strong challenge for the CHAN Cup.

“During the workshop, Zimbabwe got its due recognition from Caf and the LOC as one of the consistent teams that has been to every CHAN tournament but we now need to turn that regular appearance into better results and go on to the knock-out stages.

“We need to do a lot in every department and for that we need a lot of resources and every Zimbabwean needs to play their respective roles but Zifa must lead the way and give directions to the nation because this a brand for the country and people will need the guidelines from Zifa.

“I certainly think that if all parties rally with each other we have adequate time to prepare. The coach has already given his programme where he wants at least a month-long training camp before kick-off and if resources permit that would mean three weeks of that camp in South Africa.

“In terms of facilities and equipment to get us geared up for the tournament South Africa is ideal and we could play some friendly matches against some of their top clubs as well as other countries there and then we will return home to wind up our preparations and complete the formalities of the team’s official send-off by the authorities,’’ Mussa said.

The Warriors manager said Gorowa had also used his links in South Africa to arrange with clubs that will assist the Warriors with training facilities.

“Ideally that is the grand plan that we have and we intend to take a slightly enlarged squad which would then be trimmed to the final 23 when we return for the final week of camp.

“It is also my appeal to the players who are going to be chosen to impress and they must be disciplined and stay focused and they would really watch that they would be eating and drinking because during the workshop a lot of emphasis was also put on the medical files of the players and Caf want comprehensive reports for each player,’’ Mussa said.

Mussa also hailed Caf for organising the workshop which he felt showed the significance that the continental body is now attaching to the CHAN tournament as a huge development platform for African players.

“The workshop started just as the 100 day countdown to the CHAN tournament also started and a lot of issues were addressed including Caf’s drive to take local leagues across the continent more seriously.

“It covered the finer details of what will be required of the teams, while at the same time informed them of what will be made available to them throughout their stay in South Africa.

“There was discussion on important team related aspects like training venues, accommodation, travelling arrangements, security guidelines, the media, doping, kits, accreditation and all the other information that that will help make the CHAN a successful tournament,’’ Mussa said.

Mussa said they had not been impressed by the current state of the training facilities which the Warriors would use but remained hopeful that the City of Cape Town authorities would honour their pledge to spruce them up in time for use by the participating teams.

“Zimbabwe and Uganda will be sharing the same hotel and same training ground but both of us were not happy with what we saw especially the turf on the training pitch and the dressing rooms which are in stark contrast to what is there at the match venue at Athlone or even Greenpoint which is seven-star.

“But the municipal authorities there pledged to spruce up the facilities and lay on another turf inside the next two months so we will send our representative there for another inspection.

“The Ugandan coach (Milutin ‘Mitcho’ Sredojevich) also made a lot of noise about the training facilities and given his experience in South Africa where he was once coach of Orlando Pirates he just like us knows that South Africa can certainly offer better in that regard,’’ Mussa said.