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Sports Reporter
ZIMBABWE Under-20 national women’s FIFA World Cup qualifier against Ethiopia in September hangs in the balance.

ZIFA say they have to first secure the greenlight from the Government first before they can proceed with the tie.

CAF last week announced the FIFA Under-20 Women World Cup qualifiers were resuming in two month’s time with the first round, of the two-legged clash between Zimbabwe and Ethiopia, slated between September 3 to 12.

The winner will progress to the second round which has been slated for October while the last qualifying round will be played in November.

Although the continental governing body have cancelled the Africa Women Cup of Nations, scheduled for November in the Republic of Congo, due to the Covid -19 pandemic, and moved the men’s AFCON finals to 2022, FIFA competitions are going ahead.

However, ZIFA will have to consult the Government on whether the national team can get permission to travel to the East African country as well as host Ethiopia here in the return leg.

“We received communication about the Under-20 FIFA Women World Cup qualifiers starting in September but we will be guided by Government policy in relation to travel to foreign nations in this Covid-19 crisis.

“We will seek Government guidance first and we stand guided by CAF,’’ he said.

Gwesela said camping and training schedules will be done once they have received the greenlight for the crucial fixture.

ZIFA also stand guided by the guidelines laid out by CAF that were released last month.

CAF made it clear that the National Recovery Plan was not a greenlight to start games across the continent, but the situation will depend on each member association. The Young Mighty Warriors earned the first round berth after they beat Malawi 2-1 on aggregate in the preliminary round in February.

Rose Mugadza’s troops will have to negotiate past three gruelling rounds in the continental qualifiers.

Two World Cup slots are up for grabs for the African teams for the Under-20 tournament.