Zimbabwe Warriors coach Norman Mapeza has called on the Zimbabwe Football Association to give the country's soccer teams more time to get ready for tournaments outside the country to improve their chances of winning.
Mapeza led the national team that was eliminated Tuesday from the Council of East and Central Africa Football Associations Senior Challenge Cup in Nairobi, Kenya, losing 4-1 to the Rwanda Wasps in a quarter-final match.
Rwanda will now play Tanzania's Taifa Stars in a semi-final Thursday. The winner will take on the Uganda Cranes, which defeated the Zanzibar Heroes 2-1 Wednesday. The final is to be played on Sunday, December 13.
VOA Studio 7 reporter Marvellous Mhlanga-Nyahuya reached coach Mapeza in Nairobi, from which his team was heading home late Wednesday.