The Sunday Mail
DID Kallisto Pasuwa fail or it’s the system that let the Warriors down?
Legislator and sports fitness guru Temba Mliswa believes it will be totally unfair for Zifa to fire Pasuwa or blame the players for the national team’s poor show at the African Cup of Nations finals which ends in Gabon today.Zifa’s High Performance Committee has recommended that Pasuwa’s contract, which expired in early February, should not be renewed.
Mliswa reckons it’s a wrong move.
“It is not the players or the coach, it is about our preparedness,” he says. “Sport is not about last minute interventions, we should have timeframes, deadlines and a proper foundation.
“I am asking, do we have a plan, a plan to say in the next five years our Warriors will have achieved this or in the next 10 years the team should reach the Afcon semi finals?”
The former Dynamos chairman and Caps United fitness coach believes Government support for the national team, drawing comparisons with neigbouring countries like Zambia, is crucial.“The national team’s failure is a result of lack of support from both Government and the corporate sector. Government should play a leading role. In Zambia the national coach is paid by the government.
“Modern football has also gone more scientific and you need more resources. Even if you bring in Sir Alex Ferguson or Jose Mourinho, nothing will improve if we do not have the resources to back their plans and expertise.
“We have a High Performance Committee that wants Pasuwa out without giving him support on the recommendations he made in his report. That is wrong. Let us support (Pasuwa) on the recommendations he has made and then judge him afterwards,” says Mliswa.
A member of the Warriors Afcon pioneering group of 2004 Dazzy Kapenya agrees that the national team did not have the best of days in Gabon and blames the football system in the country.
“At the 2004 finals we said it was a learning curve; two years later in Egypt we also talked of learning; and again 11 years later we are still learning. When will we say we have learnt?
“A lot needs to be done as we look at the 2019 Afcon qualifiers. Blaming the coach is not the right move because there are a lot of behind the scenes activities that influence the results on the pitch.”
Former Young Warriors skipper Nesbert “Yabo” Saruchera says the only way the Warriors can improve is through playing regularly at the Afcon finals.
“Right now all efforts should be put on the 2019 edition because we need to be there. This trend of waiting for 10 years before qualifying should end. We can only improve or gain more exposure by consistently qualifying for the finals,” advises Saruchera.
