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Sikhumbuzo Moyo, Senior Sports Reporter
ZIFA is set to launch what it calls “Operation Restore Dignity” that will see a complete overhaul of the Warriors’ technical set up ahead of the start of their next international assignment in April.

The Warriors crumbled like a deck of cards in their last two matches to crash out of the Total Africa Cup of Nations finals when they were dismissed 0-2 by Senegal and humiliated 2-4 by Tunisia in their Group B encounters to exit the tournament with just a single point.

“We are not at all amused; heads will roll, believe me. After embarrassing the Acting President in their send-off ceremony and forcing us to bow down to their astronomical demands, this is what they repay us with. ‘Operation Restore Dignity’ is on the horizon before our next engagement in April,” said a Zifa executive committee member.

He said they would hold a review meeting upon the Warriors’ return and then changes would be announced.

The Warriors are each set for a $30 000 windfall for their disastrous Afcon sojourn in Gabon where they failed to win a single match, unlike in 2004 and 2006 where they beat Algeria and Ghana by similar 2-1 score lines respectively.

Long serving manager Sharif Mussa will also not be spared the chop, as Zifa blames him for failing to rein in the players during the pre-departure revolt.

Coach Callisto Pasuwa, his two assistants Saul Chaminuka and Mkhuphali Masuku, as well as goalkeepers’ coach Rueben Tswatswa are all set for the exit door as Zifa begins a new chapter for the senior national team.

Players that also masterminded the revolt in Harare ahead of the squad’s departure for Gabon could also face sanctions ranging from suspension to forfeited allowances.

Former Bafana Bafana and SuperSport United coach Stuart Baxter, who offered to help Pasuwa ahead of the Afcon finals, Ugandan coach Milutin Sredojevi and two-time Afcon winner Frenchman Hervé Renard, who is presently in charge of Morocco, are among foreign coaches being touted by the association as possible successors to Pasuwa.

Pasuwa’s tournaments table

P     W     D     L     F     A     GD    Pts
Cosafa     3     1     2     0     7     2     5     5
Chan        3     0     1     2     1     3     -2     1
Afcon       3     0     1     2     4     8     -4     1

Total matches     9     1     4     4     12     13     -1     7

Success rate: 14%