ZIFA president Cuthbert Dube has lauded former Warriors skipper Benjani Mwaruwari for returning to help the domestic game and revealed that the Portsmouth striker had tentatively agreed to play an ambassadorial role for the country’s football.

Dube, flanked by Zifa chief executive Jonathan Mashingaidze met with Benjani and his business associate Kennedy Mapeza in the capital yesterday where the association also gave its blessings to the striker’s request to stage a testimonial match in May.

Benjani who retired from the Warriors game, is expected to get some high profile names like Nwankwo Kanu, Emmanuel Adebayor and Austin “Jay Jay’’ Okocha to converge in Harare for his testimonial match.

But the veteran forward, who has also seen duty with Air Zimbabwe Jets in Harare, Jomo Cosmos in South Africa and AJ Auxerre in France, felt he needed to secure Zifa’s blessing before staging the testimonial, a rare feat by local players when they have reached the twilight of their careers. It is against this background that Benjani met with the Zifa leadership yesterday.

Dube, speaking after the indaba, said they had embraced the former Warriors captain’s idea to come back and stage his testimonial in his home country. Benjani had been scheduled to hold a Press conference yesterday to outline   details related to the testimonial match but it was postponed to this morning.

Dube said although he could not discuss much about the role that Zifa wanted Benjani to play, he had been touched by the Pompey forward’s “passion for Zimbabwe’s football’’.

“It (the meeting) was at his request to meet with us and ask to hold a testimonial. He wanted some blessings from Zifa which we gladly gave. Benjani was a very illustrious player and he was our captain for many years.

“Few people have gone back to the country that helped give them a platform to pursue their football careers but Benjani has shown his willingness to do that. A committee has now been set up that will handle the logistics related to the testimonial match and it is a small committee. I have said it should be a small committee so that decisions are quickly passed and things are done expeditiously.

“But as Zifa we are pleased to have this kind of thing and we will do all we can to assist where our help is needed and where we can manage to offer that help,’’ Dube said.

The Zifa president said he had also used the occasion of the meeting to discuss with Benjani the association’s intention to have the former Warriors skipper play a role in the national game.

“I mentioned to him about being our football ambassador and he accepted it but everything will be done officially at the appropriate time, we will officially announce all that later.

“But we believe that he is quite capable of marketing Zimbabwe. We have a few more names that need recognition and as Zifa we have realised that we have to be proactive and initiate these things. Of course, Benjani has initiated his own testimonial but it has opened us to such ideas and many others that could see Zifa and former players working closely together.

“Benjani has also indicated that he is looking at ways to support the Warriors. He is very passionate about the Warriors and I was touched by that.

“The engagement between Zifa and him will create a two-way avenue to explore many opportunities between us,’’ Dube said.

Mashingaidze had earlier said Zifa wanted to tap into the expertise of former players and find roles for them in the national game.

The Zifa chief executive said they would create a platform for former players to chip in and assist, arguing that “not all of them could be coaches but that does not mean if you cannot coach then you do not have role to play in the development of the game’’.

“Benjani is just a start, we want to tap into all our great sons of this country. It doesn’t mean that all of them will go into coaching when they retire from the game, there are numerous roles they can play and we believe they can be great football ambassadors of this country . . . there is a lot they can do in terms of profiling, marketing and being role models and helping secure partnerships for our football,’’ Mashingaidze said.