Zimbabwe football champions FC Platinum returned to Zvishavane on Friday after three weeks in Bulawayo ahead of their friendly match against Ferroviario of Mozambique at Mandava Stadium on Saturday.

FC Platinum have been training in Bulawayo since 8 January as they prepare for their Caf Champions League preliminary round clash with Desportivo Premeiro de Agosto of Angola. The first leg is in Angola during the weekend of 9 to 11 February and the return fixture is slated for 20 -21 February.

The 2017 Castle Lager Premier Soccer League Champions had their training sessions at the Bulawayo Centre for Cricket Excellence, which is situated at Busters Sports Club. The squad of 27 players had their last workout on Friday morning before finding their way to their base in Zvishavane.

Coach, Norman Mapeza described their time in Bulawayo as being incredible as they had sessions daily far away from familiar surroundings. He expressed his happiness with the improvement he has seen in his players. Mapeza is not really concerned about winning when it comes to the friendly matches, instead he is looking to see how far the preparations have gone.

“We had a fantastic time, training sessions everyday and so far I am really happy with the progress we have made. Tomorrow (Saturday) we are going to have our first friendly game. Usually these friendly games it’s not about the results but we want to see how far we have gone in terms of our preparations, of course if you get a better result its good spirit of the boys,’’ Mapeza said.

FC Platinum will also clash with Zambian sides, Zanaco (30 January) and Nkana (3 February), with both fixtures at Mandava as the Zimbabwean champions look to get ready for the Angolans.

Mapeza is eyeing the group stage of the Caf Champions League, something he did with Monomotapa in 2009.

@Mdawini_29