HARARE – ZIFA has unveiled Spanish coach Ramon Catala’s technical team and announced a sweeping set of appointments across Zimbabwe’s men’s and women’s national teams as part of a new development programme aimed at building a unified football system from Under-15 level to the Warriors and Mighty Warriors.
Catala, a UEFA Pro Licence holder, will lead the Warriors and will be assisted by fellow Spaniards Marc Sanchez and Vicente Girona Izquierdo.
ZIFA said Catala brings more than three decades of experience across Europe, Africa, Asia and the Middle East, with previous roles involving Celta Vigo, Espanyol, Real Zaragoza and Dynamo Kyiv. He has also coached Nicaragua and held technical roles with Libya.
Sanchez has worked at CE Sabadell, CF Damm, Villarreal and Mallorca, while Girona’s experience includes Villarreal, Shanghai Shenhua and the Algerian Football Federation.
Croatian coach Stella Gotal has been appointed Mighty Warriors head coach, becoming the first foreign coach to lead Zimbabwe’s senior women’s national team.
Gotal, a UEFA Pro Licence holder, has worked within Croatia’s women’s national team structures, Saudi Arabia’s women’s programme and, most recently, Gibraltar’s senior women’s national team.
ZIFA said the appointments were part of its Dream 2030 programme, which seeks to move Zimbabwe away from appointing national team coaches and preparing squads on a competition-by-competition basis.
“Today is not simply about announcing coaches. It is about announcing a new technical direction for Zimbabwean football,” ZIFA said.
“For too long, our national teams have largely operated as separate entities – appointed at different times, prepared for individual competitions and often without enough connection from one age group to the next. We are changing that.”
Under the structure, ZIFA wants players identified at Under-15 level to progress through interconnected national teams before reaching senior football.
“Our pathway is clear: U15 identifies. U17 develops. U20 prepares. U23 transitions. The senior team performs,” ZIFA said.
“Dream 2030 starts at Under-15, not at the senior national team.”
Former Warriors defender Kaitano Tembo has been appointed head coach of the men’s Under-20 team, assisted by former Dynamos and Warriors forward Max Makanza.
Tafadzwa Mashiri takes charge of the Under-17 boys, with former Warriors defender George Mbwando as his assistant, while Backlyfield Chivenga will coach the Under-15 boys, assisted by Alexio Sigion.
Former ZIFA technical director Wilson Mutekede has been named assistant coach of the men’s Under-23 team. ZIFA said the Under-23 side would operate as a critical bridge between youth and senior international football and would be closely connected to Catala’s Warriors technical team.
On the women’s side, former Mighty Warriors captain and coach Rosemary Mugadza will lead the Under-20 girls, assisted by Naison Muchekela.
Jatson Maphosa and Thubaelihle Sibanda have been appointed head coach and assistant coach, respectively, of the Under-17 girls, while Irene Mwanza will lead the Under-15 girls with Jacob Chavungama as her assistant.
ZIFA said its decision to employ Spanish technical leadership for the men’s senior programme was based on Spain’s player-development system rather than simply its success at international level.
“We are not trying to turn Zimbabwe into Spain,” ZIFA said. “We want to combine Zimbabwean talent with world-class methodology and build a distinctly Zimbabwean football identity.”
The association said it wanted common principles covering technical quality, tactical intelligence, intensity, transitions, athletic development, discipline and responsibility across the national teams rather than requiring every coach to use the same formation.
ZIFA also said the appointment of foreign coaches should result in knowledge transfer rather than marginalising local coaches.
ZIFA said youth coaches would not be judged solely on tournament results, with their performance also measured by the number of players identified and promoted through the national system, technical and tactical development and how many ultimately reach senior international football.
“The greatest achievement of an U17 coach may not simply be winning an U17 tournament,” ZIFA said. “It may be producing six or seven future Warriors or Mighty Warriors.”
The association said the ultimate goal was to establish national teams capable of consistently qualifying for and competing at the Africa Cup of Nations, Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, Olympic Games and FIFA World Cups by building “one national football philosophy” from the grassroots upwards..
