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Tendai Ndoro

Ricky Zililo Senior Sports Reporter
ZIFA’S continued bungling goes beyond mere expulsion from the 2018 Fifa World Cup as talented footballers are missing out on gathering required caps to make moves to Europe. While some organised football federations have taken full advantage of the March 23-31 Fifa calendar date for official or friendly matches, Zimbabwean players will spend the week watching other countries in action.

European leagues and even our neighbours South Africa cancelled their Premiership games to allow national team players to report for duty.

The English Football Association has stringent requirements before players from outside Europe can get work permits.

Work permits are only issued to international football players of the highest calibre who will be able to make a significant contribution to the development of the game of football at the highest level.

In order to establish on an initial application that the player is an international player of the highest calibre the following criteria must be met:

l A player must have played for his country in at least 75 percent of its competitive A team matches of which he was available for selection, during the two years preceding the date of the application.

l The player’s country must be at or above 70th place in the official Fifa world rankings when averaged over the two years preceding the date of the application.

Zimbabwe is ranked 124th in the Fifa world rankings — the worst in decades.

On Tuesday, former national team striker Tendai Ndoro who plays for South Africa’s PSL side Mpumalanga Black Aces, in an emotional Facebook post stoked the flames on Zimbabwean football lovers. He reminded them that the once promising football powerhouse in Africa — the Warriors — are inactive at a time other countries are building teams for future international competitions.

The former Chicken Inn striker who is in his second season with Amaziyoni and dreams of playing in Europe got lots of sympathy for his: “It hurts to see your teammates going to camp for their national teams and play international games,” he posted on facebook.

The Zifa board disbanded the senior national team last year after the Warriors were knocked out of the 2015 Afcon qualifiers by Tanzania.

It was a decision meant to emphasise on the development of junior national teams, with the association hoping that this would roll out players good enough to take Zimbabwe to major international football tournaments in future.

But alas, the football motherbody is failing even to organise a training camp or friendly match with countries like Botswana, Mozambique, Zambia or South Africa which is home to most of our players.

Zimbabwe — four-time Cosafa Cup winners — will be sending the Young Warriors for the 2015 edition of the tournament set for South Africa in May and expectations were high that they will be using the Fifa calendar dates to prepare the squad.

Already, the Young Warriors are participating in the African Championship qualifiers and will be travelling to Cameroon for the second leg carrying a 1-0 lead without having a proper camp.

Quizzed on why they were not utilising this week’s Fifa dates, the Zifa spokesman Xolisani Gwesela said he would ask his boss – the ever-blundering chief executive officer Jonathan Mashingaidze – and get back to Chronicle Sport.

Repeated efforts to get a comment later proved futile.

Besides failure to use the date for the Young Warriors’ preparations or players gathering caps, the effects of not using the Fifa dates include plunging on Fifa rankings.