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Eddie Chikamhi in MASERU, Lesotho
WARRIORS coach Callisto Pasuwa has made a passionate plea to his employers at Zifa to arrange an early camp and to mobilise financial support for the team ahead of the African Nations Championship finals in Rwanda early next year.

The tournament is less than three months away and Pasuwa, who led the side to a 4-2 aggregate win over Lesotho in a two-legged final qualifier, said he was not happy with the way the national team has been conducting their business.

The Warriors preparations were disrupted last week when players downed tools demanding their dues. And now it appears the boycotts have become the norm every time national teams are preparing for international assignments.

Businessman Philip Chiyangwa saved the day when he chipped in with a cash donation of $10,000 while the Ministry of Sport and Recreation ensured the trip materialised when they chipped in with air tickets.

Chiyangwa also promised the Warriors a further $10,000, should they complete their mission, which is set to be handed to the team today.

But last night the Warriors cut short their celebrations and sent their captain Danny Phiri to engage Zifa chief executive Jonathan Mashingaidze and the technical team over their outstanding bonuses.

Some of the dues stretch back to June when the side opened their campaign in the preliminary round tie against Comoros.

Pasuwa reckons the Warriors can be a force to reckon with if they get the support they need.

Zimbabwe finished fourth at the last edition in South Africa and they are keen to improve on the record.

“Let me say this to the authorities, we need to be in camp in time. We need to prepare well in order to get good results. We’re going to meet stronger opponents, most of whom are far better than Lesotho,” said Pasuwa.

“So we need as much as we can in terms of preparations. We shouldn’t get used to these bad habits of training just three days when we could have more time. It’s not healthy and I tell you one day we’ll be hammered for five if we continue on such a path.

“This is not only about Chan. In fact we would want to see Zimbabwe playing at bigger tournaments like the Afcon and even the World Cup.

“We want to square off with some of the world’s big names as Germany to test our talents. I believe we’ve the talent but we lack the support to qualify for those bigger events,” said Pasuwa.

Pasuwa and his technical committee together with officials from Zifa and the Sports and Recreation Commission have been invited for a meeting to chart the way forward with Sport and Recreation Minister, Makhosini Hlongwane, this week.

The Ministry was not amused by the events in the run-up to the Warriors’ trip to Maseru as it appears the same problems keep recurring whenever the national team is preparing for an assignment.

The Warriors, however, managed to put their worries behind them and again Rodrick Mutuma repaid the faith shown in him by his coach when he grabbed the goal that unsettled their hosts in the 34th minute in the 1-1 draw.

Zimbabwe were carrying a 3-1 advantage from the first leg at Barbourfields last week with Mutuma scoring a brace in that match.

His three goals have put him in second joint top goal scorer in the qualifiers alongside Angola’s Gelson, Ethiopian Gatoch Panom, Karouk Miya of Rwanda and Zambian Winston Kalengo.

Angola’s Luis leads the charts with four goals.

Pasuwa praised Mutuma for his recent contributions in the Warriors colours.

“He’s a sniper in front of goal. It’s very unfortunate that he wasn’t fit enough. He had an injury on his groin and on his ankle and then we had to risk playing him. But again he got that important goal,” said Pasuwa.

“Remember we were playing away from home, so I thought these guys did very well. There were some moments we missed chances.

“We could’ve wrapped up the game but it’s the aggregate that counts and I’m happy we’re going to Rwanda.”

The Warriors will join hosts Rwanda and 14 other countries at the tournament.

Angola and Zambia also qualified from the Southern Africa region.

Finalists from the other regions include the inaugural winners Democratic Republic of Congo, Morocco, Tunisia, Mali, Guinea, Nigeria, Niger, Gabon, Uganda and Ethiopia.

The winner between Ghana and Ivory Coast this Friday will take the other slot while Cameroon and Congo battle for the final place on Saturday.

So far, Zimbabwe are the only country that has featured at all the four finals since the tournament was inaugurated in 2009.

They could be joined by Ghana if they succeed in the West Africa derby that was postponed after it had clashed with Cote d’Ivoire presidential elections.

Holders Libya will not be able to defend their title after they failed to qualify.

South Africa, who hosted the previous edition have also missed out after losing 3-2 aggregate to Angola.

Bafana Bafana won 2-1 away at the weekend but it was not enough to overturn the 2-0 deficit they had suffered at home in the first leg.