WOLVERHAMPTON youngster Tawanda Chirewa has excused himself from the Warriors trip to Malawi for a four-nation tournament next week to concentrate on asserting himself in the first team for his club.
Zifa are, however, still trying to persuade him to come and claim his first international cap in this window.
The 28-year-old player is one of the eight England-based stars that were named in the Warriors squad to compete in a tournament involving Zimbabwe, Zambia, Kenya and hosts Malawi.
The countries are using the tournament, slated for March 18 to 26 in Lilongwe, to prepare for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers that resume in June.
A source told NewsDay Weekender Sport yesterday that Chirewa has turned down his first Warriors invitation so that he can concentrate on his club football.
The highly-rated midfielder graduated into the Wolves senior squad in January and has since made some cameo roles for the English Premier League (EPL) side in recent weeks.
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“He wants to cement his place in the Wolves team, so his management team has asked for him to be excused for this assignment in Malawi. The good thing is he has agreed and is committed to play for Zimbabwe in future. He has made himself available for the World Cup qualifiers in June,” a source said yesterday.
A Zifa official confirmed they had received communication from Chirewa’s camp, notifying the association of the player’s unavailability for next week’s tournament.
“All the other players, except for Chirewa, have provisionally confirmed their availability. We are still engaging his camp. We still have some hope that we can convince him to come.”
Chirewa, born in England to Zimbabwean parents, made his first Wolves senior team appearance in the league after coming on as a second-half substitute in a goalless draw against Brighton & Hove Albion on January 22 this year.
He was introduced in the 88th minute for Pedro Neto, playing the final minutes of the game at the American Express Stadium.
The feat came just two weeks after the Zimbabwean made his senior debut for Wolves in the FA Cup third round fixture against Brentford.
He has gone on to make another EPL appearance against Newcastle United, while also making the matchday squad in several more games.
As part of celebrating his league debut in January, the EPL honoured Chirewa with a special memento a few days ago.
The honour is given to any homegrown player who makes his first appearance in the Premier League.
The memento is presented with a personalised, engraved case containing the season’s match ball.
His unavailability for the trip to Malawi will be a huge disappointment for Warriors interim coach Norman Mapeza, who would have wanted to assess all the players, especially those born in England and have not been called for national team before.
Other England-born players who have received their first call-ups to the Warriors squad are Huddersfield Town’s Shane Maroodza and Sheffield Wednesday’s Joey Phuthi.
Goalkeeper Marley Tavaziva, who plays for Brentford development side, has been included again in the Warriors squad despite not turning up the last time he was invited.
Striker Macauley Bonne makes his return to the team for the first time since 2021, and the Cambridge player says he is “buzzing” to be back.
Also making a return to the national team squad is defender Brendan Galloway, who is enjoying a good season at English championship side Plymouth Argyle.
Leicester City’s Tawanda Maswanhise, notorious for turning down previous national team calls, has once been called up again.
Mapeza will take charge of the Warriors squad for the duration of the tournament after Zifa’s Normalisation Committee announced him as the interim coach early this week.
It was the same day the squad was also announced and it is unclear if the FC Platinum coach was responsible for picking the players.
The former Warriors coach and captain will be assisted by Ngezi Platinum Stars coach Takesure Chiragwi.
Zimbabwe has named a strong-looking squad for the tournament as they want to make full use of the Fifa calendar to prepare for the resumption of the World Cup qualifiers in June.
The bulk of the squad that played the opening two qualifiers against Rwanda and Nigeria in November last year has been retained.
Zimbabwe resume their qualification campaign with a home game against Lesotho in the first weekend of June before travelling to South Africa the following week.
The Warriors currently occupy fifth position in a six-team Group C with two points from two matches.
Rwanda leads the group with four points, followed by South Africa on three, while Nigeria, Zimbabwe and Lesotho are tied on two points each.
Benin anchor the log standings with one point.
The winner of the group will qualify directly to the 2026 Fifa World Cup.
Warriors squad
Goalkeepers: Donovan Bernard (Chicken Inn), Martin Mapisa ( Dynamos), Marley Tavaziva (Brentford B, England)
Defenders: Shane Maroodza (Huddersfield Town, England, Devine Lunga (Mamelodi Sundowns, South Africa), Gerald Takwara (Ohod FC, Saudi Arabia), Kevin Moyo (Dynamos), Teenage Hadebe (Konyaspor, Turkey), Peter Muduhwa (Highlanders), Munashe Garan’anga (KV Mechelen, Belgium), Emmanuel Jalai (Dynamos), Brendan Galloway (Plymouth Argyle, England), Jordan Zemura (Udinese, Italy), Joey Phuthi (Sheffield Wednesday, England).
Midfielders: Marshall Munetsi (Reims, France), Junior Makunike (Simba Bhora), Tivonge Rushesha (Reading, England), Andy Rinomhota (Rotherham, England), Tawanda Chirewa (Wolves, England) Walter Musona (Simba Bhora)
Strikers: Tino Kadewere (Nantes, France), Daniel Msendami (Jwaneng Galaxy, Botswana) Tawanda Maswanhise (Leicester, England), Macauley Bonne (Cambridge United, England)