The Zimbabwe Football Association has appointed Spaniard Ramón Catalá as head coach of the Warriors, the centrepiece of a sweeping technical restructuring that has put new coaches in charge of the country’s men’s, women’s and junior national teams.

The 65-year-old was presented in Harare on Thursday by ZIFA president Nqobile Magwizi. Catalá’s coaching career includes a spell with Dynamo Kyiv’s academy in Ukraine and national-team experience in Libya, where he briefly took charge of the senior side, according to CAJ News and NewZimbabwe.

He will be assisted by fellow Spaniard Marc Sánchez, who doubles as head coach of the Under-23 side, and CAPS United coach Takesure Chiragwi. Catalá takes over from Kaitano Tembo, whose interim spell in charge has ended and who has been handed the Under-20 men’s team.

In the women’s game, Croatian Stella Gotal was named head coach of the Mighty Warriors as part of the same round of appointments.

The appointments come as Zimbabwe prepares for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign, and ZIFA has framed the restructuring as part of its longer-term development project aimed at building a coaching pathway from junior football to the senior teams.

“These appointments are not just for immediate results but we want to build towards our Dream 2030 Vision which we recently launched,” Magwizi said, quoted by NewZimbabwe. “We also want our football to have an identity, that can only happen if we have proper football structures from developmental level to senior level.”

Catalá’s first task will be assembling a squad capable of competing in the AFCON qualifiers, where the Warriors will be looking to improve on a frustrating recent record in continental qualification.

Sources: NewZimbabwe, CAJ News Africa, Soccer24.

Six Highlanders supporters were killed on Sunday when the kombi they were travelling in crashed into the back of a tipper truck near Filabusi, as they returned home from watching their team beat Herentals 2-0 at Barbourfields Stadium in Bulawayo.

Bulawayo Chief Fire Officer Mhlangano Moyo, quoted by the Herald, said the Nissan NV350 kombi was carrying 10 passengers when it rammed the rear of the truck in the Amazon area, about 15 kilometres before Filabusi. Six people died at the scene, he said, while the occupants of the tipper truck escaped without injury. An Insiza Rural District Council-trained rescue team helped extricate those trapped in the wreckage.

Accounts of the injured differ slightly. Moyo said four people were hurt, while Highlanders said in a statement that four of the injured had been admitted to Filabusi Hospital and another was in a critical condition at United Bulawayo Hospitals.

The club confirmed the deaths in a statement issued on Monday, saying the supporters “travelled in the true spirit of Highlanders, with love, loyalty and pride for the Club” and were part of its “100-year family”. It extended condolences to the bereaved families and thanked police, emergency services and the two hospitals for responding swiftly.

The fans had watched Highlanders’ Castle Lager Premier Soccer League Matchday 28 victory over Herentals before setting off for Filabusi.

The tragedy deepens a devastating year for the Bulawayo club. In July, chairman Retired Colonel Kenneth Mhlophe, vice-chairman Sifiso Siziba and treasurer Nkani Khoza were killed in a car crash, and the club has also mourned the recent death of long-serving board member and patron Jimmy Ncube.

Sources: Highlanders FC statement via Soccer24; The Herald/Chronicle.

The National Sports Stadium in Harare has been granted Confederation of African Football Category 3 approval, clearing it to host international matches for the first time in five years.

The Ministry of Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culture announced the decision on Friday, saying it followed a recent CAF technical inspection and significant progress on priority works at the venue.

“The approval allows the National Sports Stadium, subject to the specific requirements of each competition, to host CAF Champions League and Confederation Cup Group Stage and Quarter-final matches, as well as Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) and FIFA World Cup qualifiers and other competitions applicable to Category 3 stadia,” the ministry said in its statement.

It added that CAF had “acknowledged the considerable efforts made by the Government of Zimbabwe and the Zimbabwe Football Association in addressing the observations raised during the inspection”, and had encouraged Zimbabwe to keep up the momentum and finish the remaining priority works.

The ground was declared unfit for international football and Zimbabwe last hosted a FIFA-sanctioned match there in 2021. Since then the Warriors have played their home fixtures at venues outside the country, an arrangement that has denied the squad a home crowd and denied supporters at home the chance to watch the national side in person.

The clearance is expected to allow the Warriors to return to Harare for their Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers in September, though the ministry’s statement did not confirm specific fixtures.

The ministry credited Sakunda Holdings with contributing to the refurbishment, saying its partnership with government had helped modernise the pitch and install bucket seats. It framed the wider rehabilitation programme as part of the National Development Strategy 2 and Vision 2030 infrastructure agenda, and appealed to supporters, businesses, sporting organisations and the media to back further work at the stadium.

Sources: Ministry of Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culture statement, as reported by NewZimbabwe.com and ZimEye