The manner in which Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) have handled preparations for the planned trip to Malawi leaves a lot to be desired.

Zdravko Logarušić’s Warriors are scheduled to take on the Flames of Malawi in a friendly match at the Kamuzu Stadium on Sunday, in what will be the Croat’s first game in charge of the national team since his appointment in February.

With other countries taking advantage of the international break to prepare for various assignments and with players already in camp, the Felton Kamambo-led ZIFA board has once again been caught in sixes and sevens as far as preparations for a Warriors game are concerned.

To begin with, the country’s football governing body is dealing with a “behind the scenes” Warriors squad. There is no official list and the football fraternity continues to play the guess game with four days left before the game.

The last time we checked, the Warriors team manager position was vacant, prompting questions on who really is in charge of the game in that regard.

An investigation carried out by Soccer24 revealed that Wellington Mpandare, former team manager and a candidate for the “vacant” post, has been assigned to handle managing the team and sending out invitations to respective clubs of players called for the Malawi trip.

The invitations were said to have been sent late, which is why some clubs are reluctant to release the players.

Furthermore, the gentlemen at 53 Livingstone Avenue are said to be giving generic responses like “pakaipa” when asked by players for updates regarding tickets and travel arrangements.

An inquiry made to some of the players “called” revealed that ZIFA is still to send anyone of them a ticket.

The biggest question the local football fraternity should be asking right now is not ‘who has been drafted into the Warriors squad for the Malawi game’, its if the game will go on as scheduled.