The Sunday Mail
Ishemunyoro Chingwere
WARRIORS assistant coach Saul Chaminuka has called on fans to turn the National Sports Stadium into a sea of yellow when the national team battles it out with Swaziland tomorrow.
Coach Kallisto Pasuwa’s right hand man believes an intimidating atmosphere will be crucial to the Warriors quest for victory over a side that held them to a 1-all draw on Good Friday.
Zimbabwean fans have been known to come for national team matches dressed in club colours and are quick to boo a player who does business for a rival team.
It is a culture which Chaminuka says does not inspire the Warriors and needs to be rectified — starting with tomorrow’s all-important Afcon 2017 qualifier.
“It’s very important that everybody who will be at the National Sports Stadium dresses in yellow so as to intimidate the opponent and unsettle them even before kickoff. It’s actually an international trend and that is why you see teams struggling in away venues. Imagine stepping into the ring and you see 60 000 people dressed in your opponent’s colours.
“It will definitely unsettle you. So let’s all make no apology for who we are backing on Monday by dressing in yellow,” he said.
Chaminuka said fans should not underestimate the power they wielded in deciding matches.
“In anything you do in life there are stages when you think of quitting but then you realise that there is an army of people rooting for your success you tend to say, ‘well this task is big, but then I can’t let down my fans,’ and that is the kind of push we want for the boys.
“Obviously we would want everybody to wear Warriors replicas but those that do not have can as well wear anything as long as it is yellow,” he said.
