Alois Bunjira warns ZIFA not to neglect the development of junior national teams

Former Zimbabwe international player Alois Bunjira has warned Zifa that they should not loose sight on developmental issues, just because they hosted Fifa president Gianni Infantino. Bunjira advised the association to focus on the development of junior teams such as the under-17 and the under-20. The Zimbabwe Under-20 national team failed to qualify for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations in Zambia.

Writing on his facebook page, Bunjira said:

While we are happy to have hosted the (Fifa) president in our own country and we are happy with the push for (Caf president Issa) Hayatou to be voted out of office, (but) we should not lose focus of what is happening here at home. We still don’t have an Under-17 and Under-20 national teams. It breaks my heart to watch South Africa and Zambia taking part in the Caf Under-20 Championships underway in Zambia, while we are sitting here wondering when we last participated in the Under-17 or Under-20 Championships. And we have the nerve to declare that we are a better footballing nation than SA and Zambia. Do we even match them for passion?

We really need to change our mentality and start working really hard for the development of the game here…minus misplaced pride. We may have been better sometime back (debatable), but certainly not now…

More: Chronicle