Its high time those in charge of our football start respecting fans by calling for a press conference every time they announce the Warriors squad.
That way, journalists can have the opportunity to ask the technical team to justify certain inclussions; likewise, certain ommissions.
The Norman Mapeza-led technical team yesterday announced the provisional 30-man squad for the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations finals in Cameroon.
At first glance, one wonders if that is really the team being sent to Africa’s biggest football showpiece.
Are we sending a team to AFCON to compete or just to fulfil fixtures because we qualified?
Respectfully, this is a very weak team and its weakness is not entirely because of the withdrawal of key players due to injury and personal reasons.
It is weak because of the shocking selection criteria used, that is if there is any.
Who would believe that Thabani Kamusoko finds a place in the Warriors midfield and Denver Mukamba doesn’t?
Mukamba might not be as magical as he used to be but he is still better than some players in that midfield.
With respect to Kamusoko and the talent he has, as well as all he has done for the national team, he was one of the worst players in the World Cup qualifying campaign and that how he continues to be selected remains a mystery.
Oh by the way, he (Kamusoko) was even handed the captain’s armband when Khama Billiat was taken off against Ethiopia, so he is ‘key’.
Out of curiosity, do these coaches even follow the progress of players plying their trade outside the country or they just remember that there is so and so playing somewhere hence lets include him in the squad.
Knox Mutizwa has neither started nor scored in any of Golden Arrows’ last seven matches but he is still gets the nod ahead of Ngezi Platinum’s free-scoring Bruno Mtigo.
Tatenda Mkuruva has been getting man of the match awards on a regular basis in the United States NISA league, but he is overlooked, supposedly because the division he plays in, is too weak.
The irony is while Mkuruva plays in a so called farmers league, and that being the reason for his exclusion, Martin Mapisa, who plies his trade for Zamora CF in the Sagunda B division in Spain, is called for goalkeeping duty and will certainly be in Cameroon.
Why can’t we, for once, treat players equally and select those who are in form?
Why can’t we respect the institution called the national team and put to an end the tendency of certain players actually knowing that they are guaranteed places, regardless of how they will be performing at their respective clubs?
Joke on gentlemen, one day football will prevail.