As it stands, the Warriors do not have a coach.
Brazilian mentor Baltemar Brito —who was appointed to take charge of the country’s senior men’s national soccer team on a short term deal back in September, is out of contract.
The ZIFA Normilisation Committee (NC), which was appointed to run the affairs of the troubled association until July 2024 when the FIFA suspension on Zimbabwe was lifted last year, opted for Brito, after more than 100 applicants threw their names in the hat for the biggest coaching job in the country.
The former Chelsea assistant coach signed a short term deal which ran concurrently with his Highlanders arrangement, which expired on December 31, 2023, due to work permit issues.
He was in charge of Zimbabwe’s opening 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign, which saw the Warriors managing two draws against Rwanda and Nigeria.
The Lincoln Mutasa-led NC has for the first week of the year, kept the nation guessing as far as the Warriors coach is concerned.
While Mutasa’s phone was not answered when the veteran admistrator was sought for a comment, sources told Soccer24 that it’s not obvious that Brito will retain his possition as national team coach.
“Look, there is no need for people to panic or make assumptions. The coach (Brito)’s contract expired on December 31, as everyone is aware. So his performance will be reviewed and the NC will make a decision on whether to renew it or not,” said one source.
“Also, the NC can also not give the coach a long term contract because their tenure ends in six months, so they don’t want a situation whereby they force the incoming board to keep the coach they would have chosen.
“So it all comes down to agreements, if the NC does their review and want Brito to continue and if the coach is interested in the deal that would be on offer, then he will retain his possition. If not, then another coach has to be appointed and the nation needs to understand that,” added the source.
Source Soccer24
