The Zimbabwe Football Association has found itself in the “dock” following the last-minute inclusion of Scottland player Nathan Mutasa in The Warriors squad for the Cosafa tournament.
The tournament begins today and runs up to June 14.
The midfielder was not in the initial squad and no reasons were given for the eleventh hour inclusion.
It is the dream of every football player to represent his or her country in international matches. These include friendlies, regional and continental, and at a global showpiece, such as the World Cup.
A top-notch performance at such events, especially tournaments, opens the doors to top clubs in Europe, where perks are mouth-watering. Local premiership clubs, save for a few, are struggling to stay afloat in a harsh environment where clubs backed by companies have breathing space. The gate takings collected by clubs are overwhelmed by the rising operational costs.
Hence, securing a signing with a foreign club is a boon for local players. This behoves players to go the extra mile to catch the eyes of selectors and scouts.
For local players, there are four World Cup qualifying matches coming later this year. Any good performance in those matches enhances their chances for selection in the team that will represent Zimbabwe at the Afcon finals in Morocco, which starts in December.
This is why there is an outcry over the inclusion of Mutasa in the Cosafa squad.
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Mutasa's performance for the premiership newbies has been average, with critics arguing that he does not deserve to be in the team.
They argue that while Scottland has punched above its weight in its premiership debut, Mutasa’s performance does not merit a national team call-up.
Neutrals say the selection puts the player under unnecessary pressure. They want the player to fight for a place in the team and not get it on a silver platter.
Some deserving players have been overlooked by selectors for the Cosafa tourney. A case in point is MWOS striker Billy Veremu. The gunslinger has been in scintillating form for the log leaders MWOS, scoring crucial goals.
He scored the solitary goal when MWOS floored the cash-rich Scottland at Ngoni Stadium in Norton on Saturday.
We exhort selectors to choose players on merit not because of whom they know or who their parent is.
Meritocracy gives each player a fair chance of being selected. It encourages competition among players, and the biggest winner will be the national team, which will have a talented pool of players to pick from.
We have the Afcon finals coming up in December, and we hope the selectors will pick players based on performance.
