Zim Dates SA in Five-A-Side World Cup Qualifier

This follows their 5-2 destruction of Sudan at the Chitungwiza Aquatics Complex Saturday in a two legged tie that was reduced to one match after the Sudanese requested the second leg to be played in Harare since they do not have indoor facilities in their country.

However, the Confederation of Africa Football rejected their request and decided that the match be reduced to one leg which Zimbabwe won convincingly.

Should the Zimbabweans sail past the South Africans, they will play the winner between Cameroon and Libya in June for that vital ticket for the World Cup finals in Thailand in November.

Coach Frank Farakezi is unfazed about the prospect of facing the South Africans insisting that his team will prevail. “We would not have accepted the task if we knew we were not good for it. We are looking beyond South Africa. Our aim is to play at the World Cup and I think we have a team capable of doing that,” said Farakezi.

Players include experienced Gift Mugabe, son of the late Black Rhinos defender, Simon ‘AK’ Mugabe, Farai James Madora, brother to Sudan based Edward Sadomba, and Gilmore Nengomasha, cousing to Tinashe Nengomasha, as well as Wellington Kamudyariwa who turns out for Premiership side Gunners.

Zimbabwe is making a return to international five-a-side football after 14 years of absence due to financial constraints.

The Zimbabwean team’s last international engagement was at the 1998 Africa Championships in Egypt where they finished third and missed out of the World Cup as only the top two teams from the continent tournament were guaranteed a place at the global football festival.

Caf, however, have changed the format of World Cup qualification, replacing the old Africa Championship system with qualifiers.