The Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) has announced that the contract of Warriors head coach Baltemar Brito will expire at the end of December. ZIFA needs to negotiate a new contract and work permit for the coach, as his current contract was based on his tenure with Highlanders, which also ends on December 31. There is a risk that if ZIFA delays the process, Brito could be persuaded to work elsewhere, leaving the Warriors without a coach for upcoming assignments in the next year.
Initially, when ZIFA hired Brito two months ago to lead the Warriors in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, it was believed that his contract, along with fitness and conditioning coach Antonio Torres, would run until June 24, when the ZIFA normalisation committee’s tenure ends. However, it has now been clarified that their contracts were aligned with their time at Highlanders.
ZIFA normalisation committee chairman, Lincoln Mutasa, explained that they will need to revisit the contracts and decide whether to seek an extension. Mutasa told NewsDay:
We gave them up to the end of December. We could not give them contracts that were different from that of Highlanders. Their contracts have to be re-visited, so we have to sit down as the normalisation committee on whether to seek to apply for an extension. Their current or initial contracts were in line with that of Highlanders.
We have to re-apply to the Registrar General’s Office in terms of them getting their work permits. When they signed, we were relying on the Highlanders’ contracts.
Brito has already led the Warriors in three matches, including a friendly against Botswana and two FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Rwanda and Nigeria.
Brito, originally from Brazil, joined Highlanders last year and quickly impressed with their strong performance in the Premier Soccer League. ZIFA was attracted to his coaching abilities, as he has previously worked with renowned coach Jose Mourinho during his time at FC Porto in Portugal, Chelsea in England, and Inter Milan in Italy.