Young Warriors head coach Jatson Maphosa has pointed to inadequate preparation time as the primary reason for Zimbabwe’s early exit from the CAF African Schools Football Championship. Maphosa noted that his squad had significantly less time in camp compared to their continental rivals.
Despite hosting the tournament, Zimbabwe failed to progress to the latter stages, eventually succumbing to a 2–0 defeat against neighbours Zambia in the 5th–8th place playoff match.
Maphosa maintained that while the results were underwhelming, the team’s on-field performances showed flashes of brilliance that were ultimately undermined by a lack of cohesion.
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“The team had played so well but it’s just that we had little time to train as compared to other countries who had been in camp for a month or so,” said Maphosa.
The coach also took the opportunity to address growing criticism regarding the selection criteria for the tournament squad. He explained that the technical team opted for continuity, leaning heavily on the group that participated in a similar competition in Cape Town last year.
According to Maphosa, the brief window for preparation made it nearly impossible to integrate a completely new roster or conduct extensive trials.
“From the squad which travelled to Cape Town last year, we only added four players to the squad, but though we got into camp on March 23, we had no time to properly assess the squad,” he said.
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