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Minister Makhosini Hlongwane

Sports Reporter
MINISTER of Sport and Recreation Makhosini Hlongwane says Zimbabwe should take pride in being the only team from the Southern Africa region when they take part in the Africa Cup of Nations tournament which begins in Gabon this weekend.

The Warriors play Algeria in their opening Group B match in Franceville on Sunday hoping to set the tone for a successful campaign.

Hlongwane yesterday made a passionate plea to the nation to rally behind the national team following the negativity which surrounded their departure for Cameroon at the weekend for the final leg of their preparations.

The Warriors took part in a job action and snubbed the send-off dinner organised by the Ministry last Friday at Rainbow Towers.

And, as the debate continued to rage on the social media and various other fora, Hlongwane yesterday urged the nation to shift their focus away from the negativity and rally behind the team.

“We need to move away from this and rally around our beloved Warriors who are going to fly our national flag at the biggest showcase in Africa,” said Hlongwane.

“We must be proud that we are the only team from Southern Africa who will be in Gabon.

“It’s is very important for each and everyone of us to encourage them to win games for the nation. We must stop focusing on the negative publicity because it’s no longer necessary.

“We must move forward and hope for the best. We must pray and hope that the Almighty God will lead our Warriors to victory.

“It’s very good they apologised. We are very happy and all we need to do now is to move on. It is our wish that they will go past the group stage. We might have the underdog tag but I believe we can do it as a nation.

“And, as the Minister of Sport, I am proud of the national team.”

Warriors team manager Sharif Mussa apologised to the Government and other football stakeholders.

Government has chipped in with $1m in support of the Warriors’ cause.

Despite the challenges, the Warriors left in good spirits.

The players and the technical team said they are now focused on the Afcon tournament and have promised to exert all their energies towards the objective of reaching, at least, the quarter-finals.

Zimbabwe have never gone past the group stages in the competition.

They are the underdogs in the group which also includes heavyweights Senegal, Algeria and Tunisia.