Zimbabwe

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Mafro weren’t the greatest kit manufacturer of all time and this Zimbabwe kit is one such example. There’s red accenting at the collar, sleeve cuffs and down the sides, which is alright. We also have both the flag and the ZIFA logo for a bit extra flair but otherwise the pattern is just the arrow shapes on the front, somewhat reminiscent of the triangle on the flag. There are various oranges and yellow to it, which is quite nice, but the rear is plain. Alright, but not great.

First used at the 2017 AFCON, Zimbabwe were in a tough group with Algeria, Tunisia and Senegal. They opened up with a 2-2 draw against Algeria, but early goals were their downfall, with them losing 2-0 to Senegal and 4-2 to Tunisia. A single point left them bottom of Group B. Couple that with them not using the Mafro shirt in the first game and it was a bit of a mess all around.

Umbro show Mafro how it is done. We have the same little trio of manufacturer logo, flag and ZIFA logo. We also have another plain rear to the shirt and no accenting on the edges of the shirt. However, the front makes for a great shirt. Dual layers of the flag in paint-like form splashed across the front, with pale continuations of it continuing further down the shirt. Very dramatic, in your face and Zimbabwean. You have to like it.

Primarily used in the 2021 AFCON, played in 2022, Zimbabwe fought hard to try and escape their group for the first time. Senegal sank them with the latest of late penalties followed by Malawi turning a 1 goal deficit into a 2-1 win. Sadly, while they managed to beat Guinea 2-1, the other result was a draw, leaving them bottom of a 5-4-4-3 group. They were actually already eliminated, thanks to H2H being the priority in tiebreakers, leaving them to rue missed chances.

Usually Zimbabwe are better than this. They’ve been to 5 AFCONs (and disqualified before qualification once), all since 2000, though they’ve never escaped the group stage. Despite some good World Cup qualifying performances between 1994 and 2006, they’ve never managed to make a World Cup, but they’ve been far closer than most. Closer to home they are regulars at the CHAN with 5 appearances from 7 tournaments and even a 4^th place finish in 2014. Thanks to their move from CECAFA to COSAFA they even have 2 regional cups, taking the CECAFA title in 1985 and 6 COSAFA titles since 2000. There is genuine strength to Zimbabwean football, but it hasn’t ever all fully clicked.

Having withdrawn from 1991 qualifiers, Zimbabwe came onto the women’s football scene with a bang, not only qualifying for the 2000 Championship (only had to beat Lesotho, in fairness), but finishing in 4^th place overall! They followed this up with 2 further consecutive appearances, before tailing off and not qualifying again until 2016. 2016 also brought them an Olympic appearance after 2 away goal victories and a chaotic mess against the Ivory Coast wherein they failed to show up for the away leg and forfeited it but the Ivory Coast didn’t show for 2 attempts at the leg in Zimbabwe, sending Zimbabwe through. Their Olympic group did lead to 3 heavy losses, but they managed a goal in each game. They also managed the 2011 COSAFA title and 2 further finals to showcase their credentials in a regional format. In youth football their appearances become a little sporadic on all fronts. The men’s U23s have come close to the U23 AFCON, but just as often don’t try (though they do have a silver from the African Games). The U20s reached 3 AFCONs in the 1980’s but haven’t been back since and have long periods without attempting it (along with several bans). The U17s have seen more success, reaching  4AFCONs since 1995, though since 2011 they’ve been a mess of bans and non-entries. COSAFA has been similar, taking both 2007 U20 and U17 titles, but appearing inconsistently throughout. Partially active at U20 level and barely at U17 level, their women’s youth sides have little to their beyond a 4^th place at each COSAFA level. Too inconsistent to make a deep run.

Zimbabwe are a strange futsal side, being invited to the first FIFA World Cup in 1989 (and losing 5-1 twice and 4-1 once, Italy, USA, Australia) but then not appearing until the 1996 futsal AFCON where they’d come 3^rd, narrowly missing out on the World Cup before disappearing again until 2012 qualification where they would beat Sudan before losing to South Africa and disappearing again. It’d be nice if they were a little more consistent. They’ve never tried beach soccer, however.

2022 qualifiers almost started poorly, with a resurgent Somalia taking them extremely close to elimination in the preliminary round. Expected to be fairly competitive, but not challenge for qualification, they put in a rather poor performance in the next round, finishing below Ghana, South Africa and Ethiopia with only 2 points to their name from 2 home draws. A ban from 2023 AFCON qualifiers due to suspension only compounded things.