Zifa empower coach on UK scouting mission: ‘He has the expertise and qualities to choose his players’

BY SPORTSCAST WRITER

HARARE – Zimbabwe Football Association (Zifa) president Nqobile Magwizi says he will seek cooperation from the English FA on his talent-identification trip to the UK, but insists national teach coach Michael Nees has the final say on selection.

Magwizi flew to London on Sunday to join Warriors coach Nees, who travelled

Zifa president Nqobile Magwizi.

a week earlier on a mission to convince more players of Zimbabwean heritage to represent the southern African country.

“Coach Nees travelled ahead of me to attend training sessions, visiting matches, seeing our Zimbabwean talent on display,” Magwizi told SportsCast on Monday.

“So he has done quite a lot of identifying. What is just left, really, is a few high-level meetings where I will be meeting the English FA, engaging them at high level, and also engaging some of the clubs which house some top Zimbabwean players.”

Zimbabwe has over the past few years tapped into British-born players – with such players as Jordan Zemura, Andy Rinemhota and Tawanda Chirewa having solidified themselves as fan favourites with their eye-catching performances for the Warriors.

Magwizi and Nees will hold meetings in London on Wednesday and Birmingham on Thursday with prospective Zimbabwe national team players, their families and coaches. Themed “Roots & Dreams: A Conversation with Zifa” – the Zimbabwean FA is deepening its charm offense to build a strong national team.

“What is important is that as an FA, we must give every Zimbabwean who desire to be involved in football a chance to either play, coach, administer, or volunteer, at whatever level in football, to see the transformation of football in Zimbabwe,” commented Magwizi.

“So we are giving this opportunity to every Zimbabwean, whether they are based in Zimbabwe, whether they are based in the diaspora, every Zimbabwean deserves to be given a chance. So what we are doing now is we are working with everyone who desire to be part of the Zimbabwean journey. But to be able to attract people to the journey, we need to be able to share our vision. Once that vision is shared, then those who desire may be part of that journey and participate in the growth and transformation of Zimbabwean football.”

The Zifa boss was however quick to add that Nees – who was appointed Zimbabwe’s head coach last July and has lost just once in eight international matches – is the final decision-maker on selection.

“The technical team may have recommendations, but ultimately the coach reports directly to the CEO and myself to make sure that he takes responsibility of the results that comes out of the national team,” said Magwizi.

“In my personal capacity and the ex-com (Zifa executive committee), we have no influence as to who the coach chooses because he has the responsibility to give us the results we desire. We don’t interfere in the choices he makes. He has the expertise and qualities to choose his players. It’s not automatic that if someone is in the UK they will automatically make it into the national team. It’s also not automatic for those who are in Zimbabwe or anyone else, everyone has to be chosen on merit and that is what the coach will do. We will measure the coach by the results he gives us.”

Under the stewardship of the 57-year-old Nees, Zimbabwe have qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations finals in Morocco at the end of the year.

But Zimbabwe are bottom of their World Cup qualification group on four points with four games remaining. Nees and the Magwizi administration, however, found the World Cup campaign already in disarray. Coach and executive took over after the Warriors had drawn two and lost two in their opening four matches, under two different interim coaches.

Notwithstanding this poor run in the World Cup qualifiers, Magwizi is eyeing a strong finish in the campaign as well as a historic feat for the Warriors at the Africa Cup of Nations finals.  

“We would love to win all the remaining matches, but of course Rome wasn’t built in one day,” Magwizi said.

“We would love to give it our best and make sure that we give it a good representation of who we are as Zimbabwe. For Afcon, we have of course started the preparations. On the trip to the UK, the coach is going to invite players who have never been given the chance to play for the Warriors. We will have a few training camps that will allow the coach to see the players closely, and possibly give them the opportunity to be part of the Warriors. We are hoping to give is our best and to do it with pride. So for Afcon we are looking to go beyond the group stage (for the first time in Zimbabwe’s tournament history) and for the remaining World Cup qualifiers we hope not to lose any match. That is our desire.”