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Eddie Chikamhi

Senior Sports Reporter

ZIFA board member and chairman of the Technical and Development Committee, Bryton Malandule, has said background checks were conducted when Croatian coach Zdravko Logarusic was appointed to lead the Warriors last year.

There have been concerns about the 55-year old’s qualifications after it was reported that his UEFA Pro License badge, which he used to get a job in Zimbabwe, was dubious.

However, the Croatian Football Federation have since confirmed that Logarusic indeed acquired the qualification in 2013 and it remains valid until June this year.

ZIFA board member, Malandule, under whose ambit the appointment of national team coaches is done, told The Herald that the Technical Director, Wilson Mutekede, was thorough with all the CVs.

“To put it correctly, when we appointed Loga we did verify his qualifications and in as far as we are concerned he is a holder of a UEFA Pro License. He also has a CAF A license that he acquired in Angola.

“Whether these things are genuine or they are fraudulent, then that is a different issue which we don’t know about. But, if ever there was anything amiss I think it could have been picked already.

“Before making an appointment for a national team, we send these qualifications to CAF because CAF have become strict with the issue of hiring people with the right coaching qualifications. So from the Technical and Development standpoint, he is qualified. Our Technical Director did the verification,” said Malandule.

The Croatian Football Federation, Tomislav Pacak, told The Herald, there was nothing wrong with Loga’s UEFA badges.

“We hereby confirm that Mr Logarušic earned his UEFA Pro license in 2013 at the Croatian Football Federation Football Academy and his current badge (identification card) is valid until 30 June 2021. So, from our side, there is absolutely nothing suspicious about his license,” said Pacak.

Meanwhile, Zimbabwe have risen five places on the FIFA rankings. The Warriors are now ranked 107th in the world and 24th in Africa.

This comes on the back of the 2-2 draw against Algeria and the 1-0 win over Botswana during the month of March. They possibly could have risen more places if they had avoided defeat in their last AFCON qualifier against Zambia.