OnSport Reporter
DEVELOPMENTAL football specialist, Dumaza Dube has castigated following the cancellation of the Under-17 nationwide selection process for the Young Warriors to take part in the Cosafa tournament to be hosted in Zimbabwe in September.
Dube said the timing is bad and coming up with a different plan at the juncture was ill-advised.
“If they (Zifa) stop such a good initiative that covers the whole country, then what do they (Zifa) want?” he questioned.
The national football governing body last Friday issued a statement announcing the suspension of the selection process without elaborating on the reasons.
Dube said while he is not aware of Zifa’s next move, he believes the association should continue with the current coaches at the helm of the Under-17 national team in preparation for the Cosafa tournament.
Bulawayo City coach, Thulani Sibanda heads the current Under-17 national team technical department and is assisted by Norman Taruvinga with Khonzani Ncube coming in as team manager.
“We should build a strong base and I think these coaches were already working on something. Instead of just disbanding them now it is important to let them continue because the tournament is close and then we build on from the team that would have been chosen. They can continue with this selection process until September and then after that they plan and select people that have trained or have general know-how of football development,” Dube said.
He added: “Everyone in Zimbabwe is a coach. Even people in the street are now coaches. That’s the challenge. And they should define what a developmental coach is, not everyone is a developmental coach. All those things should be put on paper and then there should be a programme to be followed for development.”
Zifa chief executive officer, Yvonne Mapika Manwa was yet to respond to questions emailed to her on the under-17 selection process by the time of publication.
