During the international break, Zimbabweans had gotten used to a lot of certain things.
The football-loving public had gotten used to seeing the CAPS United bus going to the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport to fetch national team players.
The 45-seater luxury coach would sometimes go to the airport to pick only two players, which is weird, but it became normal.
The Holiday Inn staff would know that during the international break, the hotel would be housing Warriors stars as they will be preparing for an international assignment.
Motorists using Samora Machel Road had gotten used to coming across the CAPS bus with Warriors stars singing about one Takesure —whoever that individual is, on their way to the National Sports Stadium on match days.
There are a lot weird things about the aforementioned sequence of events, particularly the use of a club’s bus to transport the national team, but that is neither here nor there.
The reality is; it is the international break and none of that is happening anymore.
Zimbabwe was suspended by FIFA and barred from participating in any international tournaments after the country’s sports regulatory body, the Sports and Recreation Commission (SRC), suspended the Felton Kamambo-led ZIFA executive last year.
The Mlotshwa-led SRC suspended the Kamambo-led ZIFA executive for several violations, chief among them failure to account for public funds.
The ZIFA-SRC impasse has become one of, if not the most monotonous topic of discussion but the harsh reality is; there is no international football in Zimbabwe hence the international break is just a holiday for local players plying their trade abroad.
Aston Villa midfielder Marvelous Nakamba is back in Zimbabwe.
The soft-spoken midfield enforcer was part of the crowd at Babourfields, which witnessed Peter Muduhwa being shown a red card by referee Allan Basvi before returning to the field of play five minutes later, during Highlanders’s defeat to Bulawayo Chiefs in the Chibuku Super Cup.
Nakamba will spend the international break without kicking a ball, unless he decides to do personal training to keep fit.
Another international break, no Warriors in sight.
