Warriors In Huge Cash Offer
Zifa are desperate for a win against Cape Verde in case Mali slip up against Liberia that the association needs the best out of the team and is understood to have offered the players $3 500 each for winning at the Etadio Da Varzea in Praia.
Zifa Chief Executive Officer, Jonathan Mashingaidze, confirmed that they have offered huge financial incentives to the players but refused to make public the money on offer.
However, Zimbabwe National Soccer Supporters Association life vice president Eddie Mboma Nyatanga confided to Radio VOP that indeed the players have been offered $3 500 per player for beating Cape Verde.
This is the highest offer any national team has received in Zimbabwean football and is $1 500 more than what the team received for their 3-0 spanking of Liberia.
As head of the national football supporters body, Nyatanga is closely associated to the football hierarchy, and is well aware of what goes on within the Zimbabwe Football Association.
Zifa president Cuthbert Dube is also on record saying the players representing the country have to be paid reasonably well if they were to produce good results.
Zimbabwe, who have eight points, need to shoot their points to 11 with a win over in case Mali draw with Liberia to push their points to 10 or lose to remain on nine for the Warriors to qualify.
Knowledge Musona, Zimbabwe’s maestro striker who missed the Warriors’ last game because of injury, is fit and featuring for his new German club Hoffenheim is expected to play a key role on Saturday’s encounter.
The Warriors have been to the Nations Cup twice in 31 years. First in 2004 under the coaching guidance of Sunday Chidzamwa when they had to wait for results of other matches to know whether they had qualified.
The second showing was in 2006, under Charles Mhlauri, when they qualified easily and made the trip to Tunisia with two more games to spare.
Since then, it has been a case of near and yet so far.