It’s rehabilitation, we didn’t ban Zim Warriors players: ZIFA

Zifa have, for the first time, said they never banned any of the Warriors from being picked from national duty after the 2019 Afcon debacle.

The absence of a number of regular players, who usually play for the team, in the squad that featured in the 2022 World Cup preliminary round qualifiers against Somalia, was widely attributed to a ban effected by the domestic football leaders.

This followed a statement, which the Zifa officials issued, suggesting they had dissolved the Warriors in the wake of the disastrous Nations Cup campaign.

Responding to questions from the media yesterday, the Zifa leaders said although what some players did in Egypt deserved to be punished by banishment from the national team, they had not banned any player.

“There is no player who was banned, the coach is free to select any player he wants to,” said Zifa president, Felton Kamambo.

“If you remember there are players like Khama (Billiat), Ovidy (Karuru) who were not part of the first leg but were called up for the second leg.” The Zifa boss said, when a ban is effected, the association officially advises those who would have been sanctioned through written correspondence.

None of the players who were in Egypt, said Kamambo, ever received a letter from Zifa advising them they would not be considered for national duty.

The Zifa officials said they had come up with a process where, in the event a player they believed did not behave accordingly in Egypt is called into the national team, would have to undergo a rehabilitation.