THE Footballers Union of Zimbabwe (FUZ) has bemoaned increasing cases of players that are dying during training sessions following the death of Buffaloes player Simbarashe ‘Smallie’ Nyauzima on Monday.

The former Black Rhinos keft back collapsed after 14 rounds of warm up and was buried on Thursday at the Glen Forest Cemetery in the capital.

Nyauzima’s death comes barely a year after Zifa Northern Division One side ZRP Morris defender

Nyasha Chakanyuka collapsed and died during the team’s morning training session at Morris Depot.

Chakanyuka’s tragedy struck 11 months after another player, Eliah Munyaradzi, also collapsed and died during a Division Three league match.

Munyaradzi, who was a midfielder for Epworth-based Maguta FC, collapsed minutes after coming on as a substitute.

In 2002, Blue Swallows player Elisha Chikuni collapsed and died during a match after scoring a hat-trick in the team’s 5-1 thrashing of their opponents.

It is against this background that FUZ president Desmond Maringwa bemoaned the continued loss of lives at football training sessions.

Maringwa queried the reason Zifa is reluctant to implement Fifa requisite medical facilities needed at training session venues as well as match venues.

“It is sad that we continue to lose precious lives because some people are sleeping on duty. I think this is the sixth or seventh time that this has been happening.

“It is known that there should be proper medical equipment on site at training venues as well as at match venues.
“The likes of Fabrice Muamba, even though he stopped breathing for some time came back to life because of urgent proper medical care on site.

“Fifa has demanded that there should be defrillators on site but somehow this is not being implemented. The gadgets are not that expensive at all but go a long way in saving lives when it comes to such circumstances.

“A Football Association can get many of those and distribute to affiliates so that we save lives. It is perplexing to note that somehow that is not being done. The level of medical care equipment provision for our sportsmen is worrisome.

“It is also mandatory for clubs to have medical checkups before training or cardiac testing gadgets so that players get onto the field known that they are fully fit. The challenge is that some of the ailments such as heart ailments can hardly be detected physically so there is need for implementation of such provisions from Fifa so that we save lives.
“It is a cause for concern for us. Otherwise it is better not to have any training at all,” said Maringwa.

Repeated efforts to get a comment from Zifa vice president Omega Sibanda were fruitless as he was said to be locked in a lengthy meeting.