Zimbabwe: Young Warriors Date Malawi Tomorrow

ZIMBABWE'S Young Warriors will tomorrow step up their preparations for the African Under-17 Championships qualifiers with an international friendly clash against Malawi at Rufaro (kick-off 1pm).

The Young Warriors will face Reunion in an Under-17 Championships first round, first leg qualifier at Rufaro on August 29.

Coach Rodwell Dhlakama, eager to guide the Young Warriors to the Under-17 Championships finals in Algeria next January, is not taking chances ahead of his teenagers' showdown with Reunion and has been in camp with his side in the last two weeks.

Dhlakama, with a proud record in which he has lost only once in 22 international matches in charge of the national youth team, has assembled a 30-member squad, which will be trimmed in the final week of preparations.

Their preparations for the clash against Reunion received a major boost when Zifa arranged an international friendly with Malawi, which will give the majority of Dhlakama's teenagers a chance to feel Rufaro's artificial turf.

The 2009 edition of the African Under-17 Championships will be staged on artificial turf in Algeria.

Zifa chief executive Henrietta Rushwaya said yesterday they had arranged that the Young Warriors against Malawi international friendly would be the main curtain raiser to the high profile ABC Super 8 semi-final showdown between Dynamos and CAPS United at Rufaro.

Rushwaya also paid tribute to Dhlakama and the "Friends of the Young Warriors" whom she said had taken the initiative to ensure that the Under-17 squad's preparations got underway as Zifa had been hard pressed for resources for a longer training camp.

"They have been in camp at Churchill High School for the past two weeks and we would like to thank the coach and his technical department and especially the Friends of the Young Warriors, people like Newsome Mutema, Calvin Nyazema and Patrick Mutesva as well as parents of children who are in camp for the efforts they have made in assisting to cater for the team.

"They put in place resources for the welfare of the players and paid them their transport refunds and they have been sourcing for assistance from various companies to ensure everything is smooth in camp.

"Unlike some people who want Zifa to pay them all the time, these people have gone out of their way to assist the association.

"We slotted the game as the main curtain raiser to the ABC Cup game between Dynamos and CAPS United so there will be more entertainment for the fans," Rushwaya said.

The Zifa boss added that the Young Warriors against Reunion qualifier had been brought forward to August 29 following a decision by the Confederation of African Football to stage Dynamos' massive African Champions League Group A encounter against Al Ahly on August 30.

Dynamos traditionally play their home matches on a Sunday but with the Champions League matches being televised across the continent, DeMbare have had to work within Caf's television programme.

It is the changes in the DeMbare game that forced Zifa to stage the Young Warriors match a day earlier.

But before they take on Reunion, the Young Warriors will tomorrow get a chance to gauge their state of preparedness when they take on Malawi.

This is the second time that Dhlakama's teenage boys will be involved in an international ahead of their clash with Reunion.

Dhlakama took his team to Pietermaritzburg in June where they beat South Africa 2-1 in the FNB Challenge match that was also used to mark the official unveiling of the artificial turf that was installed at the FNB Wadley Stadium in the city.

The Young Warriors mentor, who is also the assistant coach of Premiership leaders Monomotapa, was hopeful that his charges would benefit from playing before an expected bumper crowd at Rufaro.

"We want them to get used to playing before a big crowd because it is always different from playing before an empty stadium. I would also want the supporters to be patient with the youngsters because they are bound to make mistakes and for most them it will be their first time to play on the artificial turf," Dhlakama said.

Dhlakama revealed that he was likely to rest some of the stars of the Young Warriors' trip to South Africa and try new combinations tomorrow.

"It is important that we widen our selection base. There are some members of the team whom we already know about but we still want to have a variety of combinations and this is the chance to try some of the players we have had in camp.

"So some of those who played in South Africa might be rested.

"It is also my hope that the youngsters will also learn some valuable lessons from their brothers who will play in the main match of the day".

The decision to rest some of his regulars could mean the Young Warriors might take to the battle against Malawi without the likes of skipper Archieford Gutu of CAPS FC, Eagles midfielder Brian Katsaruware, defender Taurai Charakupa and strikers Matthew Rusike, Ray Lunga and Ntokozo Tshuma.