Sports / Soccer
Musona fails to pitch up, denied permission to board his flight
29 Feb 2012 at 05:10hrs | Views
WARRIORS' talisman, Knowledge Musona, did not fly into Bujumbura as expected yesterday with the national team management claiming that he was denied permission to board his scheduled flight without a valid visa allowing him to enter Burundi.
Musona is now only scheduled to arrive here this morning, just hours before Zimbabwe plunge into their 2013 Nations Cup qualifier against Burundi today.
The Warriors' delegation, however, were still confident late last night that the country's best striker will lead their line of attack in their date against Burundi.
The first round, first leg match on the artificial turf of the Prince Louis Stadium in downtown, Bujumbura gets underway at 3.30pm.
Musona had been expected to arrive here at 10.30 am yesterday but there was no sign of the TSG Hoffenheim forward and, in the event that he arrives this morning, he will not have any time to train with his teammates.
Given that coach Rahman Gumbo is expected to throw in a new attacking partnership today, it was important that Musona gets a feel of playing with his partner in training and that could have been possible if he had arrived yesterday.
Warriors' acting team manager, Nyika Chifamba, said Musona had encountered problems with securing a visa to travel to Burundi. Chifamba claimed that the airline that Musona had been booked onto could not allow him on board without a visa to his destination.
Chifamba insisted he had since spoken to the player and his club and made fresh arrangements that would see him now arriving in Bujumbura at 9.30am today, just six hours before the game starts.
"After the problem we had with his initial airline refusing to let him board the plane without a visa to Burundi, I have now spoken to both the player and the club's manager and we agreed that he would now leave Germany this evening on Kenyan Airways and arriving tomorrow morning which should give him a few hours to rest before the match," Chifamba said.
Musona is now only scheduled to arrive here this morning, just hours before Zimbabwe plunge into their 2013 Nations Cup qualifier against Burundi today.
The Warriors' delegation, however, were still confident late last night that the country's best striker will lead their line of attack in their date against Burundi.
The first round, first leg match on the artificial turf of the Prince Louis Stadium in downtown, Bujumbura gets underway at 3.30pm.
Given that coach Rahman Gumbo is expected to throw in a new attacking partnership today, it was important that Musona gets a feel of playing with his partner in training and that could have been possible if he had arrived yesterday.
Warriors' acting team manager, Nyika Chifamba, said Musona had encountered problems with securing a visa to travel to Burundi. Chifamba claimed that the airline that Musona had been booked onto could not allow him on board without a visa to his destination.
Chifamba insisted he had since spoken to the player and his club and made fresh arrangements that would see him now arriving in Bujumbura at 9.30am today, just six hours before the game starts.
"After the problem we had with his initial airline refusing to let him board the plane without a visa to Burundi, I have now spoken to both the player and the club's manager and we agreed that he would now leave Germany this evening on Kenyan Airways and arriving tomorrow morning which should give him a few hours to rest before the match," Chifamba said.
Source - TH
