The Zimbabwe senior national football team, the Warriors, commenced their preparations for the upcoming four-nations tournament in Lilongwe, Malawi, with their first training session on Tuesday.
Under the guidance of coach Norman Mapeza, the Warriors began their training at the Nankhaka police grounds in Lilongwe, with both locally-based and foreign-based players in attendance. The first batch of foreign-based players arrived on Monday, joining the locally-based players for the session.
Among the players present were Teenage Hadebe, Gerald Takwara, Joey Phuthi, Peter Muduhwa, Emmanuel Jalai, Kelvin Moyo, Junior Makunike, Martin Mapisa, Donovan Bernard, Walter Musona, and Daniel Msendami.
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Additional players, including McCauley Bonne, Tivonge Rushesha, and Leicester City’s Tawanda Maswanhise, who are based in England, joined the camp later in the day. More players are expected to join ahead of the tournament.
The four-nations tournament serves as part of the Warriors’ preparations for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers scheduled for June.
Simultaneously, the Malawi Four-Nations football tournament will kick off on Wednesday, featuring the Zimbabwe Under-20 national side, the Young Warriors. The tournament will now be contested on a round-robin basis among Malawi, Kenya, and Zimbabwe after Zambia withdrew.
The Young Warriors are set to face Malawi in their opening match on Wednesday, followed by a match against Kenya on Friday. Coach Simon Marange expressed confidence in his team’s readiness for the tournament, which will run alongside the senior team competition.
