Gibson Homela blasts Zifa

Sport
FORMER Warriors coach and Zifa technical director Gibson Homela has blamed the national football governing body for the Warriors failure

FORMER Warriors coach and Zifa technical director Gibson Homela has blamed the national football governing body for the Warriors failure saying the deep-seated problems bedevilling football in the country needed wide consultations with knowledgeable sports persons for the growth of the game.

REPORT BY FORTUNE MBELE

The Warriors crashed out of the World Cup qualifiers for the umpteenth time, losing their last two matches in eight days — 2-4 to Egypt at home on June 9 and 2-0 to Guinea in Conakry — where they travelled with a depleted squad following chaotic preparations by Zifa for the tie.

The veteran Fifa instructor yesterday told Southern Eye Sport that success for the senior national football team was not in sight in the near future as long as Zifa, led by Cuthbert Dube, behaved incompetently.

“It is clear that we still have challenges in assembling a team and this muddling starts with Zifa. They display amateurish standards as far as I am concerned. For instance, how does a player lose his passport?

“In our days it was known that the manager is in charge of passports. What we are witnessing is an amateurish way of doing things. We are just doing things randomly. Zifa is bungling and I think a neutral man with a lot of experience in football is needed for the reconstruction of the Warriors,” Homela said.

Homela, who played for the national team and Zimbabwe Saints during his days, said football administration in the country needed a “Caesarean Section”.

He took a shot at the Education, Sport, Arts and Culture ministry saying they were not playing their part in ensuring the national team’s success.

“People need to consult further. A Caesarean Section of the whole system is called for with all stakeholders taking part — PSL (Premier Soccer League) leaders and football veterans — who can contribute positively towards the growth of the game. The sports ministry has also not done any enforcing.

“They are the biggest culprits. Maybe, they should just drop the sport and just be an education and culture ministry. These people running our football are not properly guided,” Homela said.

Concerning the latest gaffe by Zifa, Education, Sport, Arts and Culture minister David Coltart said his ministry had not been approached for assistance. Homela was Warriors coach between 1985 and 1988 on a part-time basis, resigning at the end of that year after being employed by Edgars.

He then returned into the national frame as Zifa technical director between 2002 and 2006. He is chairman at Zimbabwe Saints and last week, he held a Level Two Coaching Course in Kadoma which ended on Sunday.