Liverpool Academy Graduate Finally Says Yes to Zimabwe
After years of chasing him, Zimbabwe has its man. Isaac Mabaya — the Liverpool right-back who once turned down the Warriors as a 17-year-old — has accepted a call-up to Ramon Catalá’s squad for this month’s AFCON qualifiers.
A long time coming
This isn’t a new interest — Zimbabwe have wanted Mabaya for years. Back in 2022, at just 17, he rejected the switch, with his father citing the complications involved at the time. Three years on, the picture has changed: a passport issue that had complicated his eligibility has since been resolved, and with his path to England recognition looking less certain, the Preston-born defender has made his decision.
Straight into a big month
Mabaya joins a 24-man squad set for back-to-back qualifiers — away to Sierra Leone on 24 September, then away again to DR Congo on 28 September. He arrives as one of only two uncapped players in the group, alongside Scottland FC’s Abubakar Moffat, joining an England-based contingent that already includes Corbin Mthunzi (Ipswich), Andy Rinomhota (Reading), Sean Fusire (Sheffield Wednesday), and Wolves pair Tawanda Chirewa and Marshall Munetsi.
The Liverpool angle makes this even bigger
This isn’t a fringe player. Mabaya has been at Liverpool’s academy since he was six, and — turning 22 later this month — has just been registered in the club’s Premier League and Champions League squad as a homegrown, club-trained player. He’s coming off a serious setback too, having ruptured his Achilles in his first start out on loan at Wigan last season, and is only now working his way back toward full match sharpness.
He’s not yet a fixture in Liverpool’s first team — he played for the U21s rather than featuring in their Carabao Cup tie against Tottenham — but the trajectory is clearly upward, and he’s believed to be entering the final year of his current contract.
Why this matters for Zimbabwe
Beyond what he offers on the pitch, gaining consistent senior international football — the travel, the training environment, the responsibility of a first-team setup — could be exactly what accelerates Mabaya’s development at a pivotal point in his career.
Two qualifiers, one big decision already made. Can Mabaya make an instant impact for the Warriors?
