The Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) has come under fire from football loving Zimbabweans for failing to give satisfactory answer on X (formerly Twitter) why it failed to put player names on the back of jerseys.
Zimbabwe’s senior men football team, nicknamed the Warriors, have drew two of their opening 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Rwanda and Nigeria respectively.
However, football fans noticed that the Warriors jerseys had no player names, prompting them to ask the football mother body to explain why.
ZIFA posted a video on its social media account showcasing Walter Musona’s goal against Nigeria and in the comments section, a Zimbabwean questioned why the players’ names weren’t on their jerseys.
In response ZIFA said they are not putting names on jerseys because players are reusing them.
ZIFA explained on X that they will only splash names on jerseys during tournaments where it’s a must.
According to them, for these qualifying matches, having names on shirts means they can’t reuse them if a player isn’t called up for the next game.
“For qualifying matches, having names on shirts means that they will no longer be usable if a certain player is not called up in the next match.
“You will see names at tournaments where it is mandatory to have them ,” ZIFA said on X.
However, ZIFA’s response didn’t bode well with some football loving Zimbabweans, who expressed their discontent.
Some reactions:
@leedzenga: “Guys please be serious.”
@kebby971: “Kwanai handiti. Asi munoita one size fits all kani? Ipai Hatiperi contact iyo and see a great improvement not skiri dzekuba mari idzi. Players should feel free to give away jerseys to fans or swapping with other players.”
@Mkay28_: “C’mon🤔 The national team doesn’t even play more than 25 games per year. It wouldn’t even cost that much. So our players can’t even exchange jerseys after a match?😭 haaa be serious.”
@godrun: “What a miss! You have missed a great chance to remain silent.
@TeedzayiChari: “You need to move with the times, a shirt should be used once. Some even change during half-time.”
Zimbabwe just returned to international football after the lifting of FIFA ban early this year.
The Warriors were banned from international football few years ago, over alleged government interference through the Sports and Recreation Commission in soccer governance.
According to FIFA statutes, governments are not allowed to interfere with house football issues are managed.
