U-23S FACE CRISIS-RIDDLED ZIM

MBABANE – Focus has quickly shifted from the COSAFA Cup in South Africa, following the elimination of unlucky Sihlangu by Madagascar on Friday.

The focus now shifts to the Under-23 squad coached by Caleb Ngwenya, which is away in Harare for the first leg of a series of games leading to the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

Zimbabwe’s football is in serious administration and financial crisis which nearly saw both their men and women teams pull out of the competition. The women team, which will play Zambia in Nkolola this afternoon, was bailed out by Bishop who forked out the travelling costs. As if that was not enough, the preparations by the Young Warriors have not gone particularly well with coach Calisto Pasuwa forced to train a team which has only one goalkeeper, Takabva Mawaya.

Only 15 players trained on Thursday after Chicken Inn withdrew two of their players, Lawrence Mhlanga and Raphael Kutinyu for their Premiership clash against Hwange this afternoon. Mamelodi Sundowns star Kuda Mahachi, who was expected in camp on Thursday, has also excused himself due to family problems, while vice-captain Ronald Pfumbidzai is still in Europe on trials.

The Zimbabwe Under-23 technical bench was on Friday making frantic efforts to get goalkeeper Bernard Donovan into camp.
Donovan was part of the Warriors squad that lost at the Cosafa Championships in South Africa on Thursday. He was expected back in Harare later yesterday and is likely to start in tomorrow’s match.

The goalkeeping crisis exemplifies Pasuwa’s situation in the defensive department. Of all the defenders who produced heroics against Cameroon in the All-Africa Games, only one is in camp after teams withdrew their players.
The match is not in the Fifa calendar, hence clubs’ refusal to release their players. And Pasuwa has warned that there shouldn’t be any blame game in the event that his team fails to get a desirable result tomorrow.

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