Mapeza's Return To The Warriors Helm Explained
FC Platinum coach Norman Mapeza accepted the offer to coach the Warriors in order to help the Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA), out of a crisis, his manager, Gibson Mahachi, has said.
Mapeza on Wednesday agreed to a three-month contract where he will double as the Warriors and FC Platinum coach in a move described by Mahachi as a show of patriotism.
Speaking to NewsDay yesterday, Mahachi revealed that negotiations almost hit a snag as ZIFA owes Mapeza money from his previous stint with the Warriors. Said Mahachi:
When you are called for national duty, you respond, that is what we did with Mapeza.
It’s known that there are pending arrears, but for the sake of helping out on the crisis, Mapeza accepted the offer.
However, we had to negotiate, that’s why we took days. It’s what makes the difference between job negotiations, some even take less than an hour, while some take days.
Eventually, they are going to settle the debt but for now, he will work on an interim basis while they follow their due processes on appointing a substantive coach.
Asked if Mapeza is ready to accept the Warriors job on a full-time basis since his contract with FC Platinum is set to lapse by year-end, Mahachi said:
We wait to see how it unfolds, if he is happy with everything, am sure we will work something out.
There are possibilities and we can’t rule them out because no one knows the future.
There are a lot of things to consider, but as for now, we are happy with what is available.
Mapeza will preside on World Cup qualifying matches against Ghana (two matches), South Africa (away from home) and a home match against Ethiopia.
His appointment followed the sacking of Zdravko Logarušic after the Warriors plunged to the bottom of Group G with a single point from two matches.
In is 14 matches in charge of the Warriors, the Croat managed a single victory, a 1-0 win over Botswana that secured Zimbabwe’s qualification for the belated 2021 Africa Cup of Nations finals.
