Zimbabwe captain Knowledge Musona hopes football in the country will improve despite their group-stage exit at the Africa Cup of Nations.
The Warriors, who were making their fifth Nations Cup appearance, were eliminated despite beating Guinea 2-1 in their final Group B game in Cameroon.
“We need to develop our grassroots football, to develop from the Under-17’s, Under-20’s and Under-23’s to prepare our national team for our next assignments,” the 31-year-old forward said, as quoted by BBC Sport Africa.
“Some of us, maybe in a few years’ time, are going to stop and we have some guys growing up and trying to maintain the level of Zimbabwean football.
“I am really optimistic that there should be something to be done for the development of the game.
After narrow defeats by Senegal and Malawi, Musona scored the opener as Zimbabwe beat Guinea to claim their first Nations Cup win since 2006, and says they are happy they “gave a good fight to all the opponents.”
“The coach told us that we must go out there and enjoy the game because we knew already that we are out of the tournament, so we had no pressure.
“It’s also a good feeling that we ended our group matches with a win because at least we have some hope for our next games.”