ZIFA under pressure to dismiss Mhlauri
By Tichaona Sibanda
6 June 2007

The Zimbabwe Football Association is under pressure to dismiss its under performing warriors coach Charles Mhlauri, Newsreel learned on Wednesday.

According to sources close to ZIFA, the problem facing the association is that its executive members are divided over the issue, with some suggesting they give the under fire coach some more time, while others are calling for his head.

There have been intense calls from Warriors fans for Mhlauri to step down after the national team’s 2-nil defeat to Morocco in the do-or-die encounter last weekend. The 38 year-old coach has told journalists he will not throw in the towel and walk away from his job despite the massive setback.

The defeat sealed the Warriors’ fate, as they would miss next year’s Nations Cup finals in Ghana. The Warriors needed an outright victory against the stubborn Moroccans but a controversial refereeing decision early in the match cost the Warriors dearly.

Our source added that ZIFA chairman Wellington Nyatanga was planning to call for a special meeting of the board to discuss the Warriors’ disastrous campaign as his job was also on the line.

Mhlauri has however made an impassioned plea to his bosses to give him another chance to complete the job he started in trying to rebuild a team from the remnants of the ageing squad whose core had been at the heart of the successful campaign for the 2004 and 2006 Nations Cup finals.