Zifa mess: Antipas, Mapeza reject offers

via Zifa mess: Antipas, Mapeza reject offers – NewZimbabwe 18/12/2015

WARRIORS coach Kalisto Pasuwa has been fired with immediate effect.

Pasuwa had started preparations for the 2016 African Nations Championships (Chan) set for Rwanda in January when he was hit by the bombshell from new Zifa president Phillip Chiyangwa on Thursday night.

Chiyangwa’s actions come just two weeks after he tried, unsuccessfully, to fire Premier Soccer League chairman Twine Phiri.

Pasuwa has been replaced by Chicken Inn championship winning coach Joey Antipas, who has however refused to the offer as his team will be playing in the Caf Champions League at starting in February.

In any case, Antipas is well paid at Chicken Inn and stays in the plush Selborne Brook suburb of Bulawayo.

Desperate Chiyangwa has turned to former Warriors coach Norman Mapeza, who is in charge of FC Platinum, but has been turned down, leaving the Zanu PF central committee member with egg on his face.

According to Chiyangwa’s envisaged new Warriors technical structure, Antipas will be assisted by Dynamos coach Tonderai Ndiraya and Mandla Mpofu, with Peter Nkomo coming in as the goalkeepers’ coach.

Wellington Mupandare is the new team manager, while Cosmas Zulu has
been listed as fitness manager.

A statement from Zifa read: “At an extraordinary meeting of the Zifa national executive committee on 17 December 2015 at Harare, it was resolved that the entire technical team for the national team headed by Kalisto Pasuwa be relieved of its duties. National team camp is hereby dissolved with immediate effect and new camp dates will be announced in due course.”

Earlier on Thursday, Zifa acting president Omega Sibanda had released a different statement, saying coaching the national team was a privilege, adding that coaches and players would not be allowed to hold the association to ransom.

“The Zimbabwe Football Association would like to categorically state that national duty call-up is a privilege, which no patriotic Zimbabwean can turn down,” the statement read.

“The association will continue to extend invitations to players and coaches eligible to do duty for Zimbabwe. The PSL is endowed with highly qualified technical personnel boasting of Caf licences and shall not be short of qualified technical expertise.

“The association is currently carrying out an audit of technical expertise in all association leagues with a view towards considering for placement those qualified to take up national team duties.

“The nation should rest assured that players and technical personnel who heed to the international duty call-up shall be rewarded for their sacrifice and commitment.

“At no time shall the association allow players and the technical officials to hold the nation to ransom over allowances.”

Mapeza and Antipas are some of the highest paid coaches in the land as their teams are backed by big companies, Mimosa Mining Company and Innscor Africa respectively.

Sources at Zifa told New Zimbabwe on Friday that Chiyangwa wanted to rid everybody associated with his predecessor Cuthbert Dube.

“The reasons for firing Pasuwa are not clear for now but we are being told that anybody who came into office under Dube has to go, that includes some of us,” said a Zifa employee.

Another source added: “The force behind all this is Omega; he has big beef with Dube and is determined to clear everybody much to the detriment of the game.

“It’s a sad situation but there is nothing that can be done. We hear Mashingaidze (Jonathan, chief executive) will also be fired next week.”

Chiyangwa is going to South Africa on Saturday to attend the Cosafa Annual General Meeeting (AGM), having previously stated that he was going on three weeks’ vacation following his election on December 5.