The ManicaPost
Fungayi Munyoro Sports Correspondent
THE recent decision by the Zimbabwean government and Zifa not to host the 2019 Cosafa tournament has been lauded by football fans and former players in Mutare who believe that the country is not in a position to host such a big tournament.
Minister of Sports Kirsty Coventry announced on Monday that the tournament will not be held in the country. She said the move was not ideal for both the Zimbabwe Football Association and the country as the announcement was made at short notice.
Zimbabwe successfully staged the tournament, 10 years ago when they defeated Zambia in the finals.
Fans who spoke to Post Sports said the Government and Zifa did the right thing.
Former Zimbabwe international Lazarus Muhoni said the country’s soccer governing body deserved to be applauded for the move.
“It is a good idea not to host this tournament though there are advantages and disadvantages. We are not ready and not prepared to do so. The Government and Zifa have done well because we need to get our house in order and plan even to improve all our facilities. We cannot host such tournaments without good grounds.
“However, it is a disadvantage to our local good players who have the talent. Hosting Cosafa tournament was the best platform for them to be exposed and show off their talent,” he said.
Bindura based Auckland FC coach Jerry Gumbo said it was a welcome move.
“I think they did well. We should not host this tournament because we no longer have good grounds and also with Zifa debts ballooning every day. If we were going to host anything without government support it was not going to make sense because most of grounds in Zimbabwe are substandard,” he said.
Vince Moyo a soccer supporter said the country has no capacity to host such a big tournament.
“We are struggling financially and we have no capacity to host the tournament. We need to upgrade our facilities so that they may suit the standards that are required to host the tournament,” he said.
Taurai Matumba former Highway administrator said Zifa’s decision was correct.
“The decision taken by Zifa is good. There are a couple of factors that we need to look at. Our preparations were going to be shoddy considering the state of our facilities. The Government must be applauded for that. We are not prepared in terms of security, infrastructure and financially.”
However, Hillcrest sports director Chris Mhike said it was possible to host the tournament.
“It is a disappointment for us as soccer supporters. A lot of people will say we have no facilities but the previous hosts South Africa took it to other places. In Zimbabwe we cannot even take it to our capital city. We can be innovative in terms of facilities. We could also play games at the national sports stadium and some in Ngezi. It is also a tournament with a big sponsor if we fail to host such tournaments then we start thinking that hosting Africa Cup of Nations will be impossible,” he said.
Diamond FM Sports presenter Tafadzwa Tichawangana said it was a wise decision to cancel the tournament.
“Zifa should not have even accepted the offer seeing that there was a short time frame. This might be a blessing in disguise for Zimbabwe football because we still have that match to qualify for the Afcon finals in March. Everyone is confident that we will win our last qualifying match. The focus will now go to the Afcon. All the money must be channelled towards the Warriors games than hosting Cosafa,” he said.
