All things being equal, Warriors caretaker coach Jairos Tapera would have loved to have more time in camp with his players to prepare for the forthcoming COSAFA Cup 2024.
The tournament will be held in the South African city of Gqeberha (formerly Port Elizabeth) from June 26 to July 7, after the organisers yesterday announced they had shifted base from Durban.
Tapera, who is set to name a new squad after disowning the original selection made by the ZIFA Normalisation Committee, is yet to get directives from his employers on the way to go.
The Manica Diamonds gaffer, who returned to club duties at the weekend, yesterday referred questions to ZIFA.
He presided over his team's 1-1 draw against Yadah Stars at Heart Stadium last Saturday, just days after returning from Bloemfontein where his Warriors had suffered a 3-1 hiding by South Africa in a 2026 World Cup, Group C qualifier.
But it has emerged that Tapera has not received any further word from ZIFA.
His club bosses are also reportedly not amused by their poor manner in which the Normalisation Committee have been handling the communication around their coach.
The coach yesterday referred all questions to ZIFA.
"This is now an issue for the office. At the moment I cannot say much," he said yesterday.
However, Tapera is understood to have finalised his team selection at the weekend and has since submitted the names to the ZIFA office.
He told the Zimpapers Sports Hub in a previous interview that he was leaning towards a team of Under-23 players, picked from the local leagues as well as casting the nets as far afield as South Africa and England, to accommodate promising young Zimbabwean talents.
Tapera also hinted he wanted at least a one-week training camp to have a better appreciation of the players at his disposal, as part of the preparations for the 12-day tournament.
The COSAFA Cup kicks off next Wednesday.
Efforts to get a comment from ZIFA on the Warriors' preparations fell flat yesterday.
ZIFA chief executive officer Yvonne Manwa requested that all questions be sent to her e-mail, but the former Ngezi Platinum Stars boss still did not respond.
Zimbabwe, who have the second best COSAFA Cup record after seven-time champions Zambia, are billed to return to the regional showpiece for the first time since their 2021 debacle under Zdravko Logarusic.
They open their Group B campaign against Comoros on June 27 at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.
The COSAFA tournament provides a platform for national teams to work on building their sides, apart from the fight for the regional bragging rights.
Tapera's bid to use a side of genuinely Under-23 players has already received the support from all progressive forces in the domestic game.
This tournament will be key ahead of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, which are set to begin in September.
For Zimbabwe, it will be time to make amends after losing their last two FIFA World Cup qualifying matches against Lesotho and South Africa recently.
Tapera will embark on his final mandate in his interim role after leading the Warriors in those two FIFA 2026 World Cup qualifying games in South Africa.
The Manica Diamonds coach, may, however, be limited to selecting not more than two players from one team after the Premier Soccer League indicated on Monday that they don't intend to take another break soon after returning from a fortnight's recess they took to pave the way for the Warriors' World Cup assignments.
In this year's COSAFA Cup, Zimbabwe are also set to face old foes Zambia and guest nation Kenya.
The Harambee Stars overcame the Warriors 3-1 at the Four-Nation tournament in Malawi in April.
Zambia's Chipopololo have previously dished interesting match-ups against the Warriors at the COSAFA tournaments.
Kenya will be making their second COSAFA Cup appearance having debuted in 2013 when they went out in the pool stages.
They will be the fifth-highest ranked side in this tournament and have made a solid start to their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign with a win and two draws from their four games to date.
The COSAFA Cup organisers have retained last year's format, which saw the 12 participating teams split into three groups of four sides, with the three pool winners and the best runners-up set to advance to the semi-finals.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
Hosts South Africa and Botswana will lock horns yet again in the most played fixture in COSAFA Cup history in Group A, which also has Mozambique and Eswatini.
Last year's runners-up Lesotho are in Group C along with three-time winners Angola, 2015 champions Namibia and Seychelles.
The format ensures each country will play a minimum of three games and up to a maximum of five over the course of the competition.
Botswana Zebras coach, Didier Gomes da Rosa yesterday selected a youthful side for the tournament.
The squad is different from the one that took part in the back-to-back 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Uganda and Somalia.
His selection has young players, some from the First Division league and most will be in line to win their first Zebras cap.
South Africa will be coached by Helman Mkhalele, who announced an enlarged 51-member preliminary squad last Friday to begin preparations for the event.
