HARARE - 24 hours earlier, he had met a football supporters’ body aligned to Zifa president Cuthbert Dube and announced at the meeting that he would not fire the association’s board following the calamitous failure to advance past the preliminary stage of African Nations Cup qualifiers.
Not that sacking Zifa, in so doing attracting the wrath of world governing body Fifa, is the best possible solution for any right-thinking person in this country.
But there was something in the tone of the proclamation by Sports Minister Andrew Langa – beaming from ear to ear and surrounded by members of a supporters outfit called Friends of Warriors – that does not inspire confidence at all that sport in this country is in the hands of man who knows his stuff and has firm grip on affairs.
24 hours later, Langa was meeting Zimbabwe Rugby Union (ZRU) chiefs, two senior players and coaching staff at his offices, where he promised to “go out of his way” to help fund the national side if they beat Russia in their tough World Cup qualification play-off on August 2.
The announcement by Langa, coming two weeks after the Sables agonisingly missed out on automatic qualification in the Africa Cup in Madagascar – not because of the association’s shortcomings, or the players’ lack of ability, but for appalling lack of support from his ministry – is further testimony that the man is terribly out of sync, awfully unaware of his roles, responsibilities and priorities as the Minister of Sport.
I hope we beat Russia. I hope we can still go to the World Cup. But to tell us that now, minister, when we have been forced to take the tougher road because an easier route was wasted due to lack of a little helping hand from you and your ministry, is the highest degree of insult.
It’s like a father who neglects his child’s education but promises to buy them a nice gift if they pass their exams.
Being abandoned at birth is better than this.
Zimbabwe’s second position in the Africa Cup in Madagascar, heartbreakingly so just behind Namibia, means the Sables need a minor miracle to get through to their first Rugby World Cup in 21 years - but there is still a slim, slim chance.
The Sables must beat Russia away early next month in the alien and tough conditions of Siberia. If they do, they then face the winner between Hong Kong and Uruguay, home-and-away, for one of the last tickets to England 2015.
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Russia are ranked a few rungs above Zimbabwe in the IRB rakings, and are one the better second-tier European rugby sides.
And if we manage get there, Uruguay are one of the major rugby playing nations of South America – alongside the likes of Argentina and Chile – while Hong Kong’s expat population has helped strengthen rugby union in that region. The British and Australian exiles in their national team make it quite a formidable side.
Quite simply for us, the missed opportunity in Madagascar, of which Minister Langa should be taking some responsibility instead of insulting our intelligence like he did on Tuesday, was the best chance we’ve had in 21 years.
It’s now a mountain to climb.