Will it Still Be an African World Cup?

With a few days left before the kick off the first ever World Cup on African soil, reality is now dawning on many African soccer fans that the dream of an African World might remain just that. If they had been asked a few years back, many soccer supporters on the continent would have declared their participation in the world’s biggest single sport spectacle right in South Africa. Now, complicated visa requirements, the cost of travelling and inaccessibility of tickets will now exclude some of the continent’s most fervent followers of the game, who will have to now be content watching on television from home. Unfortunately for others in power deficit countries like Zimbabwe, they might even be excluded from watching the games even on TV.

Poor choices in terms of modes of selling tickets meant that many Africans, with limited access to the internet, could not buy tickets to the games. Furthermore, the SA government has maintained some strict visa requirements, including requiring one to have a given sum of money in their bank account, thus including more would be cheerleaders from the showcase. To add insult, the authorities even chose a non-African in Shakira to sing the theme song for the World Cup. This has been heavily criticised by many analysts, considering Africa vast musical talent.

Many will now hope for a good showing by Africa’s six representatives to give them something to cheer about the tournament.

What Justifies a Warriors Foreign Coach

Newly elected ZIFA President Cuthbert Dube has started living true to the colours of Zimbabwean Football adminstrators, staking his belief in a foreign coach for the Zimbabwean National Soccer Team, the Warriors. What is perplexing though is what the authorities at 53 Livingstone see in foreign coaches that some of us fail to see.

The only two coaches who have been able to take the Warriors to the African Cup of Nations are local, Sunday “Mhofu” Chidzambwa in 2004 and Charles Mlhauri two years later. Foreigners have failed to win even the regional COSAFA Cup, with Chidzambwa (twice), his brother Misheck and Mlhauri architecting Zimbabwe’s successes in the competition. Sunday Chidzambwa also guided Zimbabwe’s qualification for the maiden Championship of African Nations (CHAN) in Côte-d’Ivoire in 2009, and seems to have laid the foundation for a second qualification before sadly ending his second flirtation with the Warriors. Despite the success of the local boys, we once again start hearing the need to hire a foreign coach, purportedly from Germany. But why? We tend to ask.

The Warriors failed to make to the Africa Cup of Nations Finals in Angola early this year, and couldn’t make it to the second round of qualifiers for the 2010 FIFA World Cup set to kick off in South Africa in a matter of weeks. During that forgettable time, they were under the tutelage of one Valinhos from Brazil. What gives Dube and his colleagues at ZIFA the next foreign coach is going to deliver? Many proponents of foreign coaches always rush to mention the late Reinhard Fabisch’s achievements with the Dream Team of the 90s, and conveniently forget that the Dream Team failed to qualify for the Cup of Nations.

Some high profile coaches have been hired and fired by ZIFA, all without achieving much with the Warriors. Clement Westerhof was holding an Olympic Gold Medal won with the Nigerian Under 23 team when he landed at Harare International Airport, while Ian Porterfield had rebuilt a Zambian side out of the ashes of the plane crash off the Gabonese coast to the Final of the Africa Cup of Nations, but both failed to take Zimbabwe to the holy grail. There is just something about our national team that makes it a preserve of the local coaches, and the sooner ZIFA realises that the better.

Dube’s assertion that a foreign coach was best suited for the Warriors job is not only perplexing, but senseless as well. He didn’t mention any names, but is very convinced a coach from German will do. Is it about the nationality or individual ability? Can we surely choose a coach for our beloved Warriors on the basis of nationality? If it be so, then the only nationality deserving this dispensation can only be none other than Zimbabwean.

To many Zimsoccerfans, it seemed obvious the resignation of Chidzambwa will give way to his understudy, ex Captain Norman Mapeza to take over. The young coach proved himself leading an unheralded Monomotapa side to the 2008 Premier League championship. He also had vast experience playing with and skippering the Warriors on the continent as well as at club level in Europe. Fine, he has been given the caretaking job, but does he not deserve a chance to be substantive?

If for some reason ZIFA does not feel “Nomara” is the man for the job, then lets look no further than another ex Captain and Mlhauri’s ex Assistant coach Moses “Bambo” Chunga. Like Mapeza, Chunga also led unfancied Gunners to a historic League Championship last year, and can be credited for building the current Gunners side that defeated the mighty Al Alhy of Egypt early this year. He seems to be the man for any side willing to rebuild, and has the Arsene Wenger touch of unleashing raw talent, which is what Zimbabwe needs right now, towards 2014.

Maybe ZIFA will talk of experience, and we will put up the name of deposed former mentor Rahman Gumbo who has been taking Southern Africa by storm. Gumbo has so far won the Zimbabwean, Malawian and of late Botswana Premier League with distinction, making him one of a kind in the region. It looks inevitable he will soon be following Chidzambwa’s footsteps in the great trek to South Africa; where we are confident he will also be rule the roost.

Maybe it will take a little more that what ZIFA can afford to lure Gumbo from Township Rollers in Botswana, but although it’s sad to admit, Mapeza and Chunga will be available to serve the nation at a fraction of what we might fork to bring a German or other foreign national to Zim. This makes Dube’s aspirations even more unjustifiable, given that his association reportedly owes Chidzambwa USD 67,000. Its surprising and heart rending that ZIFA prefers to use scarce national resources to pay foreign coaches who hardly bring glory to the country, while failing to pay “Sons of the Soil” who almost always deliver. It is also alleged that even Mlhauri is owed money by ZIFA, while Valinhos was paid his all when he was fired.

What then is the justification of going foreign when the costly foreigners have failed to bring Zimbabwe footballing glory? Perish the thought Mr. Dube.