Warriors star Marshall Munetsi has called on local football and sports authorities to find a solution following the country's recent suspension by Fifa.
The world governing body suspended Zimbabwe from international competitions last week citing government interference in the running of the game.
Fifa's decision comes after the Sports and Recreation Commission (SRC) suspended the Zifa board on allegations of failure to account for public funds and sexual harassment of female referees.
While Fifa has demanded that the board be reinstated for it to lift Zimbabwe's suspension, the SRC says it will not budge, leaving local football in limbo.
Munetsi, who is on the books of French Ligue 1 side Stade de Reims, has become the first local football star to speak on the country's suspension by Fifa, saying it would have negative effects on local footballers.
"The ban on our national teams from international football and our local teams from international cup competitions is quite sad. Football has since evolved into a sport that's more than just a sport, many livelihoods now depend on it, it's a source of hope during tough times. Football is a uniting table where people with differences can sit together and feast at the spectacle we call the beautiful game," Munetsi wrote on Twitter.
The versatile Warriors star warned that Zimbabwe could lose a whole generation of talented footballers as a result of the country's suspension which has come hard on the heels of the Covid-19 pandemic.
"It has been two years without any meaningful development on the local football scene due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and as a result of that, we stand to lose a young generation of talented footballers who now have to resort to other means of earning because football has been in limbo. As we were now getting back into some sort of cautious normalcy as we try to emerge from the effects of COVID-19 in our football our beautiful nation gets struck by a ban on international football, our football stands to lose quite a lot for many years as a result."
Munetsi said he is hopeful that both SRC and Zifa would find a solution that ensures that the Fifa ban is lifted.
"I pray the parties involved can get to a resolution quickly so that we can get back to playing international football soon. And the decisions made will in fact pave a way for better running of our football," he said.
Artmotion S.Africa
