hat travelled to Mozambique with the inclusion of the CAPS United duo of Lionel Mtizwa and goalkeeper Tsungi Mudzamiri who were on duty with the Zimbabwe Select side in Malaysia.
Masvingo United stopper Tafadzwa Dube has also been included to join former teammate Washington Arubi.
Mapeza’s squad is made up of mostly rookies with just Motor Action’s Clemence Matawu and CAPS United captain Method Mwanjali the only ones with relative experience.
Mapeza decided against the inclusion of foreign-based players probably because the match against Malawi is very much insignificant.
The Warriors crashed out of the qualifiers having lost in Malawi in the opening match, drawing at home to eventual Group 12 winners Morocco before losing 2-0 away to the Atlas Lions.
Warriors’ manager Charles “Mafripa” Dzvairo said that the Warriors coach was looking to build a team for the future around the young players hence the reason to do without the senior players.
“If you look at the squad he has chosen, it’s basically made up of players under the age of 25. He is looking to build a team for the future and he will be working with those players he feels have the potential to fuse with the senior foreign-based players.
“He already knows the foreign-based players and he just wants to mould a squad that will be fused with the senior players to make a stronger squad.
“We are expecting two players who went to Malaysia to join the rest of the squad.”
Dzvairo urged all Harare-based players to surrender their passports at the Zifa office before tomorrow and said that players from in and around Bula-wayo should report for camp on Sun-day evening at a hotel to be advised by the association.
“We expect all the players to be in by Monday and what we saying is that those players in Bulawayo should report to camp soon after their league matches and those outside Bulawayo will travel to join the others either on the same day or on Monday morning.
“But those players in Harare whose games are on Saturday should travel to Bulawayo on Sunday and we expect them to be in camp on that day.
“But as a reminder, all players in Harare should submit their passports at the Zifa offices by Friday.
“We don’t want a situation whereby a player whose team will be playing out of Harare, for instance CAPS United players who will be going to Hwange, to leave their documents behind.
“We can’t have them travelling back here because we expect them to be dropped in Bulawayo by their club on their way back from Hwange.”
The Squad
Goalkeepers: T. Mudzamiri; W. Arubi; T. Dube.
Defenders: M. Mwanjali; G. Banda; C. Nhamoinesu; O. Moyo; G. Karimupfupi.
Midfielders: J. Majabvi; C. Matawu; C. Gomba; O. Kalulu; P. Tafirenyika; B. Benesi; L. Mtizwa; Z. Jambo.
Strikers: K. Nkhata; A. Dzukamanja; R. Mteki; W. Pakamisa.
*****
ONE of the country’s top judokas, Tatenda Guta, has been invited to represent Zimbabwe at the 25th World Judo Championships in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, next month.
The 22-year-old University of Zimbabwe animal science student will be the country’s sole representative at the World Championships, which are set to run from September 13-16 in the South American country.
Guta, who fights in the Under-81kg category, is scheduled to leave the country on September 10 for the Brazilian capital where he will join about 800 other top judokas from 120 countries for the four-day event.
The World Championships will also be used as a qualifying event for next year’s Olympic Games in Beijing, China.
Guta’s coach, Hosui Sasaki, said yesterday that his student was invited to compete at the World Championships by the International Judo Federation whose president, Yong Sung Pak, is based in South Korea.
“Tatenda is a young judoka with a very bright future ahead of him and we felt honoured to receive an invitation from the International Judo Federation for him to represent the country at the World Championships.
“The International Judo Federation will pay for all his expenses, including airfares, accommodation and food, and I’m convinced that he will hold his own during this prestigious event. In fact, he has been training very hard in preparation for the World Championships where I also hope he will get more experience by fighting against world-class opponents,” said Sasaki