Jairos Tapera, the coach of Manica Diamonds, has been appointed as the interim head coach of the Zimbabwe national football team, the Warriors.
He will lead the team in the upcoming FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Lesotho and South Africa, as well as the COSAFA tournament. Tapera will be assisted by Takesure Chiragwi from Ngezi Platinum Stars and Saul Chaminuka from Green Fuel.
The appointment was made by the Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) Normalisation Committee, with a substantive head coach expected to be announced soon.
Statement by the Chairman of the Normalisation Committee, Mr. Lincoln Mutasa, related to the appointment of the Coaching Team for the Senior Men’s National Team.
Following the purposeful and expansive process conducted by the ZIFA Normalisation Committee to appoint a substantive Head Coach for our senior men’s national team, my committee and I are pleased to announce that the process has reached its finalisation.
However, due to ongoing discussions with the selected candidate, we are unable to make the necessary announcement at this stage.
Given that our World Cup qualifiers versus Lesotho and South Africa are imminent, the delay in the conclusion of this appointment has necessitated the appointment of an interim coaching team that will take charge of our two FIFA World Cup Qualifiers as well as the COSAFA Senior Men’s Tournament that starts immediately after these qualifiers.
This will assist the ZIFA Normalisation Committee to conclude the substantive appointment of the Head Coach of the Senior Men’s national team meticulously, thoroughly, and successfully.
Mutasa reiterated that Tapera and his technical team will be in charge of the World Cup qualifiers against Lesotho on 07 June and against South Africa on 11 June, and the COSAFA Men’s Tournament thereafter. He said:
This team will take charge of the senior men’s FIFA World Cup Qualifiers against Lesotho and South Africa and will also lead the team into the COSAFA Men’s Tournament immediately after these assignments.
We have full confidence they will ably lead the team. It is our hope that the nation will rally behind the team and unite to achieve the success we all so dearly desire.
Zifa normalisation committee has turned to Manica Diamonds coach Jairos Tapera as the #Warriors head coach ahead of the World Cup qualifiers against Lesotho and South Africa.
Takesure Chiragwi and Saul Chaminuka have been appointed Assistant coaches while Sunday Chidzambwa has been appointed a Technical Advisor.
