THE Zimbabwe Football Association (Zifa) says the absence of a home ground has taken a toll on players and training time, which affected the Warriors performance in the Fifa World Cup qualifiers.
Zifa has been bombarded with attacks from football stakeholders over the Warriors' recent performances in the World Cup qualifiers, which included a loss to perceived minnows, Lesotho, on “home” soil in South Africa.
The string of poor results has seen the Warriors drop to 129 on the Fifa World Rankings — their lowest in a decade — amid calls for coach Michael Nees to be sacked.
In the most recent matches, the Warriors drew 0-0 with South Africa's Bafana Bafana at Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban.
Three days later, they were away to Lesotho at Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane, where they lost 1-0, much to the dismay of Zimbabwean football supporters.
Zimbabwe are forced to play all its home fixtures outside the country because the country has no facility approved to host international matches by Fifa and Caf.
“The absence of a home ground is taking a toll on players,” Zifa vice-president Kennedy Ndebele told NewsDay Sport.
“Some of the players are flying from Europe, then fly to the match venue and then immediately they fly to play another game somewhere.”
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He detailed the brutal travel schedule players endure.
“...we had to travel to Nigeria, which meant we had to leave Durban in the morning to Joburg and get a connecting flight to Lagos, sleep over in Lagos and travel the next afternoon to where we were playing the match. So effectively we travelled for two days.”
Ndebele said the chaotic itinerary was a major disruption to preparations and recovery.
“For players, it's a toll. You don't train for two days, there is no room to even exercise because you are at the airport, either departure lounge or arrival and it's economy class. Because of limited funds, the association cannot afford to book business class for players.”
He highlighted the difficulty of playing multiple matches in quick succession without proper rest.
“We played South Africa on a Friday and played Lesotho on a Monday. The effect of it is you have players travelling from overseas to Joburg, Joburg to Durban. This time we managed to have a charter from Durban to Polokwane, but from Polokwane back to Joburg we had to travel by road, about 300km, and it really takes a toll on the players."
The Zifa vice-president noted that playing away from home also has significant psychological effects on the team.
"Maybe it's okay for European-based players because the distances are short; 30-minute flights, but for African and South American based players, it takes a toll. So, if you don't have a home ground, there are a lot of factors. Psychologically, you are away all the time,” Ndebele said.
He contrasted Zimbabwe's situation with its neighbours.
“South Africa has an advantage. They played their two additional away games at home [against Lesotho and Zimbabwe].
“They had the opportunity to play Lesotho and Zimbabwe at home and obviously they are benefiting from the World Cup legacy; they have 10 approved stadiums and to their economy, it's a boom.”
Ndebele also spoke of the two-year Fifa suspension and the dearth of proper development structures as other basic challenges stifling the growth of football in Zimbabwe.
Other recent results for the Warriors include a 1-0 loss away to Benin (played in Côte d'Ivoire), a 1-0 loss to Rwanda in Johannesburg, a 2-2 home draw with Benin (played in Durban), and a 1-1 draw with Nigeria (played in Uyo, Nigeria).
The next major challenge for the Warriors is the Africa Cup of Nations finals in Morocco in December.
