Former Warriors interim coach Joey Antipas insists that he did not walk away from the national team but that his mandate had expired.
Antipas declared that he is willing to take the Warriors job again if the Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) re-engages him. He said:
I never said that I’m quitting. It’s only that my mandate has expired. My mandate was for the six games, two in the World Cup qualifiers against Somalia, two against Lesotho in the CAF African Nations Championship and the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Zambia and Botswana. It’s entirely up to ZIFA to decide what’s next. I am open to anything.
The Chicken Inn coach announced that he has left the Warriors soon after masterminding a 2-1 win over rivals Zambia in what Zambian football commentators called the “Loah Shedding Derby” or simply “El Sheddico”.
The game was a Group H 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier played at the Heroes Stadium in Lusaka, Zambia. The victory took the Warriors to 4 points, just 2 points behind Algeria whom they face in September 2020.