Zimbabwe feared to start AFCON 2012 qualifier ill-prepared

Zimbabwe's national soccer team, the Warriors, is feared to start its 2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Liberia ill-prepared after the country's soccer governing body said it will only have a substantive coach after August 16.

The national team has been under caretaker coach Norman Mapeza since May this year when Sunday Chidzambwa resigned to join South African Premiership side Free State Stars.

The Warriors are scheduled to take on Liberia in Monrovia on Sep.4 and this means that the new coach will have just two weeks to assemble his team and organize camps ahead of the clash, News Day newspaper reported on Wednesday.

This follows the advertisement by the Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) of the post of national coach on Tuesday in which it gave August 16 as the deadline for submission of applicants.

According to the daily, the new coach will be handed a four-year deal and has to qualify for Afcon 2012 and the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

The coach also has to prepare a squad of locally-based players for the 2011 edition of the African Championships to be held in Sudan.

Source: Xinhua