2 Year League Drought Caused Zimbabwean COSAFA Plight, Gumiso

By Branton Matondo

Former national team and Highlanders midfielder Blessing Gumiso said that the failure of Zimbabwe to pinch semi final qualifications at COSAFA was due to the absence of elite football in the country.

Gumiso said that the performance by Zimbabwe was a big blow to football fanatics across the nation and blamed the absence of league football as the major trigger.

“Professional football in Zimbabwe had been on hold from 2020 to the wake of 2021. It was surely difficult for player selection among the crop of locally talented players in Zimbabwe,” said the former Mwana Africa midfielder.

Zdravko Logarusic, Zimbabwe’s Croatian gaffer was under the hot furnace on social media media speculation recently with die hard warriors supporters citing the pale performance in South Africa as his and only fault.

Responding to this current thought in the football fraternity, Gumiso said that all the results, win or lose are determined by preparation.

“Looking at his (Logarusic) results on either they are convincing or not are justified with or without enough preparation. Since redults cam be judhed in that way, results are alwsy results and at the end of the day his perfomance was poor,” he added.

The former 2004 leavue winner is currently pursuing youth development football in South Africa where he has engaged South Afican based Academy.

“Yes, I am a coach for Acacia School in Northriding Johannesburg and also l started my own academy at that school as well,” he said.

Zimbabwe said goodbye to this years COSAFA after a 2-1 defeat from the lions of Taranga, Senegal.

Their performance at COSAFA was jittery from the start to end afters they recorded two consecutive draws against Mozambique and Malawi and then followed a defeat from Namibia.