The Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) has taking responsibility on the warriors disqualification from world cup urging the disappointed fans and other stakeholders to desist from insulting Mapeza and his players “who all gave it their all albeit on a losing cause”.
Mapeza replaced Zdravko Logarušic, who had managed one point from two matches, with the former Warriors captain given the mandate to revive the World Cup campaign.
In a statement yesterday, Zifa said they are proud of the Warriors’ performance even though the results were not favorable.
“To suggest that the team was not committed is grossly unfair to these dedicated group who aspired to do well for their beloved nation. We are proud, therefore, of the Warriors’ performances despite lack of a positive results. Their commitment was clear to us to see. It is this commitment to their country that we salute more than the result,” Zifa said.
Things went horribly wrong for Norman Mapeza as Zimbabwe fell 3-1 away in Ghana on Saturday on his first match in charge.
As if that was not enough, the Warriors suffered another blow at home when they lost 1-0 to Ghana on Tuesday.
“Zifa as the institution responsible for football in Zimbabwe, therefore ,takes full responsibility of the Warriors’ failure to qualify for world cup irrespective of several impediments that further complicated the journey. We fully understand the disappointment that comes with every unfavourable result from the national teams because we know just how much Zimbabweans love and support their team.” Zifa said.
The football association however said they will take lessons from the two matches (against Ghana) and without compromising performance on the remaining world cup matches, shifting attention to the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations finals.
They clarified on the reason why Ghana arrived to Zimbabwe earlier than the warriors adding that they will work tirelessly to ensure that the warriors will do better in the future.
“Zifa has received numerous inquiries from stakeholders on why Ghana arrived in Zimbabwe earlier than our own Warriors after the first leg. Their fear was that Zifa had probably not prepared adequately for the two matches. While Ghana flew directly from Ghana to Harare on a government-funded chartered flight, our Warriors used a commercial flight secured using the association’s resources. The flight route used by the Warriors to travel from Accra to Harare was the fastest on the earliest possible flight. For the first leg in Ghana, players travelled directly to the match venue to reduce travel distances which would have affected their preparedness for the match.”
“Zifa will work tirelessly and institute corrective measures to ensure that the Warriors emerge victorious for the future and create a positive narrative. We are now dedicating efforts on resumption of football leagues, junior football and Afcon tournament.” Zifa said.
Zimbabwe’s remaining matches in the qualifiers are against South Africa away on November 11 before hosting Ethiopia three days later. Mapeza and his bosses have said they will use the two deadrubber matches to prepare a team for the Africa Cup of Nations finals which will be played in January.
