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Callisto Pasuwa

Ricky Zililo Senior Sports Reporter
NEWLY appointed Warriors coach Callisto Pasuwa has been given time to build a strong national team without the pressure of producing immediate results, a Zifa High Performance Technical Committee official said yesterday.Pasuwa- elevated to the helm on Wednesday — has been the Under-23 coach since last year.

He will lead Zimbabwe’s charge for the 2017 Afcon qualifiers, which kicks off in June. The Warriors are in Group L alongside Guinea, Malawi and Swaziland.

Appealing to the nation to rally behind Pasuwa, the Zimbabwe Soccer Coaches’ Association (Zisca) chairman Bhekimpilo Nyoni who is also a member of the Zifa High Performance Technical Committee said the coach’s target is to lead Zimbabwe to 2019 Afcon.

The 44-year-old four-time Premiership winning coach came out as the best candidate in the eyes of the High Performance Technical Committee who will now recommend to the ZIFA Board to table a contract for him.

“When the Warriors were disbanded we recommended to the Zifa board that we’ve to rebuild from the Under-23. Pasuwa came in and did a good job, qualifying for the Africa Games. Having looked at the assignments that he was in charge of, we agreed as the High Performance Technical Committee that he is the right man to lead Zimbabwe’s 2017 Afcon campaign,” said Nyoni.

“Because we knew that if we recommended the appointment of another coach, there was a danger that the person will not stick to the ultimate goal which is building a strong side as they will want immediate results. Our expectations are that he (Pasuwa) will use a bulk of Under-23 players during the Afcon qualifiers and add a few overaged players to balance the squad. Qualifying for the 2017 Afcon finals will be a bonus because the target is 2019.”

According to Nyoni, Pasuwa who will be assisted by Saul Chaminuka, Nation Dube and Tembo Chuma is expected to have at least 10 Under-23 players in his 18-member match day squad.

This means that players like Knowledge Musona, Khama Billiat, Tendai Ndoro and Cuthbert Malajila who have been performing well at their foreign clubs will be considered for senior national team assignments.

The High Performance Technical team also came with a contingency plan to deal with Young Warriors-senior national team fixture clashes.
Recommendations are that Pasuwa will take charge of the Olympic team and Chaminuka will be with the Cosafa squad.

Jairos Tapera has been recommended as an addition to the Cosafa Cup technical crew where he will assist Chaminuka.