ZIFA Pledges $10,000 for Zimbabwe Warriors Win Against Zambia
“This is going to be more of motivation for the guys to come out with a good result,” said coach Kallisto Pasuwa.
HARARE — Zimbabwe’s Warriors are set for rich financial pickings after the Zimbabwe Football Association revealed they are going to gush out $10,000 for each of their three group matches. Zifa president Phillip Chiyangwa revealed that the group matches will carry $10,000 each for the players for a total of $30,000, adding that there will be more should they reach the knockout stages. According to Chiyangwa, the money has been placed in possession of team manager Sharif Mussa who has been tasked with the distribution should the Warriors deliver the goods as required. The Warriors arrived in Rubavu Saturday and coach Kalisto Pasuwa said he is happy with the way they are being treated in the small Rwanda town. “The wonderful welcome we received and the weather is good. We are housed at a hotel close to the stadium. We had a run on the match venue and the players seem to have adjusted to the conditions,” said Pasuwa. Pasuwa says there have no injury worries in his team and has declared war on their southern African neighbours. “We don’t have any injuries to note. We are waiting for our final training session and declare way on Tuesday,” said Pasuwa. The Warriors coach adds that the fact that they are opening the tournament against their biggest rivals in the group is motivation enough for the Warriors to come out tops from the four team grouping. “This is going to be more of motivation for the guys to come out with a good result,” said the Warriors mentor. Even Captain Hardlife Zvirekwi knows the importance of winning their opening match which he thinks will be crucial in their progression in the 16 team contest. “The first match is very important as it will set the tournament we are playing. I think we really need to go for it and win,” said Zvirekwi. Since June 7, 1980, Zambia and Zimbabwe have met on 44 occasions. Zimbabwe have won 15 of those outings with the Chipolopolo on their part winning seven times. The other 22 matches have ended in stalemates. Apart from Zambia and Zimbabwe, the other teams in the group are Mali and Uganda. The top two teams in the group qualify for the quarter finals.