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Saul Gwakuba Ndlovu
Zimbabwe’s national soccer team, the Warriors, have been kicked out of the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations tournament (Afcon) in Gabon.

They drew against Algeria in their first Group B encounter, lost to Senegal in the second match, and lost 4-2 to Tunisia. They got only one out of a possible nine points, a very disappointing performance indeed.

Their best showing was probably against Algeria when they fought back gallantly from two goals down to a respectable 2-2 draw.

Senegal outplayed the Warriors hands down and they won 2-0.

Why did the Warriors lose to Senegal and Tunisia and play only a draw against Algeria?

The considered opinion of the author of this article is that the Warriors were less prepared physically and mentally for the contests compared to their three counterparts.

We must start this critical observation by pointing out that climatic conditions clearly favoured the Senegalese, Algerians and the Tunisians in that those three countries lie in Africa’s humid and hottest regions.

Senegal is in the low-lying, humid and hot west African region. Algeria and Tunisia are desert countries where the heat in summer is quite unnerving, and humidity debilitating.

Gabon is one of Africa’s equatorial countries, lying wholly in the “region of debility” caused by unnerving heat and oppressive humidity.

Meanwhile, Zimbabwe has by and large a tolerable climate mainly because of its relatively high altitude. That is particularly so in Harare and the                highveld.

All this means that Zimbabweans need several months to get acclimatised to play soccer effectively in Gabon, unlike Senegalese, Algerians and Tunisians who are relatively used to that equatorial heat and humidity. Desert heat may be less oppressive depending on how far the place or region is from the sea.

Warriors’ coach, Calisto Pasuwa, and his technical team should have taken this into consideration by having the Warriors practising at hot and humid places such as Kariba, Victoria Falls, Beitbridge or Chirundu for a couple of weeks, and not a couple of days before going to Gabon.

Hwange and Chiredzi are also suitable albeit their humidity level is usually lower than that of the four places mentioned above.

Acclimatisation is essential for athletes to perform optimally. The Warriors had not been duly conditioned in that regard before playing in Gabon, a country known for its oppressive equatorial climatic conditions.

A second and very important factor that caused the defeat of Zimbabwe’s “national” soccer team is that the Warriors are not “national” at all. Zimbabwe comprises 12 administrative provinces, but most of the Warriors are from one province, Harare.

It is not true that most of the country’s best strikers, mid-fielders, defenders and goalkeepers can all be from the same province, region, district, let alone tribe or soccer club.

Now that Zifa have an obviously highly motivated leader, Phillip Chiyangwa, and the relevant ministry is headed by a man of action, Makhosini Hlongwane, it would be wise to establish a national structure to assist in the identification of soccer players, both female and male at district level.

Zimbabwe is multi-racial and covers the territory that lies between the Limpopo and the Zambezi rivers, and from Plumtree to Mutare, from Chirundu to Chikwalakwala. Its national sports teams’ selection must reflect its multi-racial or multi-ethnic characteristics.

A team of athletes selected nationally on the basis of quality performance would be much better than one picked on sentimental reasons. The Ministry of Sports would be doing Zimbabwe great service if it urgently looked into this issue, that is to say the need to select national teams countrywide rather than virtually from only one or two provinces.

A third factor that contributed to the Warriors’ poor performance was clearly little practice. The Senegalese outpaced and outplayed our team with the exception of a few who showed both stamina and skill.

Soccer playing needs endurance, alertness, briskness, high mobility and above average intelligence. A professional soccer player is able to run, jump, kick, dribble, shoot, fall, jostle and dive for a hectic 90 minutes at the end of which he or she should be none the worse for it.

Some of the Warriors showed signs and symptoms of fatigue after only 30 minutes, most probably because of the heat and humidity, and also because of inadequate practice.

Zifa would be well advised that a really good soccer team cannot be produced in two or three weeks. It takes much longer than that for a soccer squad to gel and to play fluently as was the case with the Tunisians.

To bring a team to that standard requires much practice, and that means money for the players, the technical staff, accommodation, food, medical service, refreshments, uniform, hardware and appropriate equipment, transport and overheads.

Good, respectable national teams are run on substantial annual and not shoestring budgets. It is very important for the Government to appreciate this fact.
Zimbabweans adore soccer, and felt deeply hurt by the Warriors’ recent poor performance. To avoid a similar experience occurring again, it would certainly help if those responsible for that sport were to revisit their modus operandi, from team selection to concerted practice.

Saul Gwakuba Ndlovu is a retired, Bulawayo-based journalist. He can be contacted on cell 0734 328 136 or through email. [email protected].