Opinion / Columnist
AFCON 2025 disgrace, so called Warriors humiliated as ZIFA rot hits rock bottom
2 hrs ago |
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Zimbabwe's so-called Warriors have done it again, crashed out of AFCON without a single win, finishing bottom of the group, embarrassing a nation that continues to support them against all reason and evidence. For the umpteenth time, the Zimbabwe national football team managed to raise the nation's hopes only to dampen football fans' spirits in cruel fashion.
This is not bad luck, this is not transition, this is institutional failure. For the sixth time since 2004, Zimbabwe have been dumped out at the group stages of AFCON. Year after year, administration after administration, the same shame repeats itself. What we witnessed at this tournament was not football, it was mismanagement in boots. Defensive comedy, leadership collapse, the goals conceded against South Africa were a masterclass in incompetence. Defenders caught ball-watching, failing to mark, failing to think. This was a poor Bafana Bafana side, arguably one of their weakest in years and yet they outthought, outran, and outplayed Zimbabwe. Results don't lie.
23 year old Tawanda "Hokoyo" Maswanhise, who should be the next Warriors Captain, briefly saved the nation from total humiliation with a moment of individual brilliance, beating defenders and scoring past Africa's best goalkeeper Williams. One moment of quality, one reminder of what Zimbabwe could be, then reality returned. Captain Marvelous Nakamba, in a moment that summed up this team's intelligence deficit, dived like a goalkeeper at a shot heading wide and handled, conceding a needless penalty. That was not pressure, that was panic and poor football IQ.
Same script, same ending, Zimbabwe raised hopes, then crushed them, yet again. Fans are tired, not just disappointed, tired of being lied to. Every tournament comes with promises of "pride" and "restoration, followed by the same collapse, the same excuses, and the same silence from administrators. Finishing bottom of the AFCON group mirrors the humiliation of finishing bottom of World Cup qualifying, behind lowly Lesotho. That alone should have triggered resignations. Instead, ZIFA carries on like failure is policy.
Magwizi's Board is becoming a total fraud. The Magwizi administration was sold to the nation as a reform project. What Zimbabwe got was the same rubbish in a new suit. This board has proven itself clueless, compromised, and catastrophically weak. The promised "fresh start" never happened. The rot was not removed, it was protected. The list of disappointments has been endless. Under his watch, we have seen a rise in player agents running the national team, choosing mediocrity and unknown players to represent Zimbabwe and having a say at the selection of the line ups.
Zimbabwean football is now run by people who do not understand football, advised by people who do not care about football, and infiltrated by people who profit from football's destruction. Player agents have hijacked the National Team, let's stop pretending. The Zimbabwe national team is no longer selected on merit, it is assembled by player agents. The Warriors have become a marketing platform for mediocre footballers looking for contracts abroad. Unknown, fringe, and underperforming players are parachuted into the national team because they are based in England, not because they are good.
ZIFA has either lost control or worse, is complicit. Selection madness that insults intelligence, how does a serious football nation ignore its domestic league champions Scotland players and other good promising youngsters playing in Zimbabwe. Surely selecting players from English non-league football and you think we are a serious nation. Recalling failed, injured and aging footballers, sideling in-form local players, how pathetic is that?
How do you justify calling up a 30-year-old eighth-tier player Macaulay Bonne who already failed in the English Football League playing for Ipswich and Southend? How does a 40-year-old goalkeeper Arubi still start when he can't leave the ground? How does a coach select players he has never watched play for their teams live? The answer is simple, he is not in control.
Inferiority complex is killing Zimbabwe Football. ZIFA selectors are obsessed with passports and postal codes. If a player is based overseas, no matter how average, he is considered superior. This is why Zimbabwe keeps losing. South Africa qualified and dominated using players from their own league. The team which played Zimbabwe was dominated by Sundowns and Orlando Pirates players. Zimbabwe embarrassed itself using a collection of foreign-based benchwarmers. One system works, the other collapses repeatedly.
No structure, no development, no future
Let's be brutally honest, the domestic league is broke. Junior structures are almost non-existent, coaching development is neglected. Administrators chase perks, not progress. The national team reflects the system behind it, chaotic, underprepared, and directionless.
This AFCON squad was the weakest Zimbabwe has ever fielded. Too many debutants, no chemistry, no leadership, no identity. This was a betrayal of the Flag. This elimination is more than a loss, it is a betrayal of the nation. Zimbabweans invest hope, money, and emotion into this team. In return, they are given incompetence, excuses, and silence.
ZIFA has failed to protect the flag. It has allowed dealers disguised as agents to dictate national team affairs. That is unforgivable, heads must roll and l wish the government can detain them at an army barracks for betraying the nation. Zimbabwean football is broken, not by lack of talent, but by criminal mismanagement, until player agents are removed from team selection and merit replaces connections our football is doomed.
If Zimbabwe football is to be respected, ZIFA leadership should be held accountable. Unless they do the right thing, this nation will continue to be humiliated. Football does not forgive dishonesty. Zimbabwe is paying the price in full view of Africa. A Football team should be a significant source of national pride and unity. Its failure on a global stage makes the people feel like a blow to the collective national spirit #ezratshisa4life
This is not bad luck, this is not transition, this is institutional failure. For the sixth time since 2004, Zimbabwe have been dumped out at the group stages of AFCON. Year after year, administration after administration, the same shame repeats itself. What we witnessed at this tournament was not football, it was mismanagement in boots. Defensive comedy, leadership collapse, the goals conceded against South Africa were a masterclass in incompetence. Defenders caught ball-watching, failing to mark, failing to think. This was a poor Bafana Bafana side, arguably one of their weakest in years and yet they outthought, outran, and outplayed Zimbabwe. Results don't lie.
23 year old Tawanda "Hokoyo" Maswanhise, who should be the next Warriors Captain, briefly saved the nation from total humiliation with a moment of individual brilliance, beating defenders and scoring past Africa's best goalkeeper Williams. One moment of quality, one reminder of what Zimbabwe could be, then reality returned. Captain Marvelous Nakamba, in a moment that summed up this team's intelligence deficit, dived like a goalkeeper at a shot heading wide and handled, conceding a needless penalty. That was not pressure, that was panic and poor football IQ.
Same script, same ending, Zimbabwe raised hopes, then crushed them, yet again. Fans are tired, not just disappointed, tired of being lied to. Every tournament comes with promises of "pride" and "restoration, followed by the same collapse, the same excuses, and the same silence from administrators. Finishing bottom of the AFCON group mirrors the humiliation of finishing bottom of World Cup qualifying, behind lowly Lesotho. That alone should have triggered resignations. Instead, ZIFA carries on like failure is policy.
Magwizi's Board is becoming a total fraud. The Magwizi administration was sold to the nation as a reform project. What Zimbabwe got was the same rubbish in a new suit. This board has proven itself clueless, compromised, and catastrophically weak. The promised "fresh start" never happened. The rot was not removed, it was protected. The list of disappointments has been endless. Under his watch, we have seen a rise in player agents running the national team, choosing mediocrity and unknown players to represent Zimbabwe and having a say at the selection of the line ups.
Zimbabwean football is now run by people who do not understand football, advised by people who do not care about football, and infiltrated by people who profit from football's destruction. Player agents have hijacked the National Team, let's stop pretending. The Zimbabwe national team is no longer selected on merit, it is assembled by player agents. The Warriors have become a marketing platform for mediocre footballers looking for contracts abroad. Unknown, fringe, and underperforming players are parachuted into the national team because they are based in England, not because they are good.
ZIFA has either lost control or worse, is complicit. Selection madness that insults intelligence, how does a serious football nation ignore its domestic league champions Scotland players and other good promising youngsters playing in Zimbabwe. Surely selecting players from English non-league football and you think we are a serious nation. Recalling failed, injured and aging footballers, sideling in-form local players, how pathetic is that?
How do you justify calling up a 30-year-old eighth-tier player Macaulay Bonne who already failed in the English Football League playing for Ipswich and Southend? How does a 40-year-old goalkeeper Arubi still start when he can't leave the ground? How does a coach select players he has never watched play for their teams live? The answer is simple, he is not in control.
Inferiority complex is killing Zimbabwe Football. ZIFA selectors are obsessed with passports and postal codes. If a player is based overseas, no matter how average, he is considered superior. This is why Zimbabwe keeps losing. South Africa qualified and dominated using players from their own league. The team which played Zimbabwe was dominated by Sundowns and Orlando Pirates players. Zimbabwe embarrassed itself using a collection of foreign-based benchwarmers. One system works, the other collapses repeatedly.
No structure, no development, no future
Let's be brutally honest, the domestic league is broke. Junior structures are almost non-existent, coaching development is neglected. Administrators chase perks, not progress. The national team reflects the system behind it, chaotic, underprepared, and directionless.
This AFCON squad was the weakest Zimbabwe has ever fielded. Too many debutants, no chemistry, no leadership, no identity. This was a betrayal of the Flag. This elimination is more than a loss, it is a betrayal of the nation. Zimbabweans invest hope, money, and emotion into this team. In return, they are given incompetence, excuses, and silence.
ZIFA has failed to protect the flag. It has allowed dealers disguised as agents to dictate national team affairs. That is unforgivable, heads must roll and l wish the government can detain them at an army barracks for betraying the nation. Zimbabwean football is broken, not by lack of talent, but by criminal mismanagement, until player agents are removed from team selection and merit replaces connections our football is doomed.
If Zimbabwe football is to be respected, ZIFA leadership should be held accountable. Unless they do the right thing, this nation will continue to be humiliated. Football does not forgive dishonesty. Zimbabwe is paying the price in full view of Africa. A Football team should be a significant source of national pride and unity. Its failure on a global stage makes the people feel like a blow to the collective national spirit #ezratshisa4life
Source - Ezra Tshisa
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