"There is a huge gulf between playing for Essex club Maldon & Tiptree in the eighth tier of English football and representing Zimbabwe at the Africa Cup of Nations. But following a journey of more than 2,000 miles to host nation Morocco, that is what the 30-year-old is about to do - and he could find himself on the same pitch as Liverpool's Mohamed Salah and Omar Marmoush of Manchester City in the first major international tournament of his career."
""I was quite emotional (when I made the squad) because of the way things have gone for me in football over the past few years," Bonne told BBC Essex. "Missing out on getting called up to camps over the last few months, and then a new manager comes in and wants to completely change the dynamic of it all, he actually knew of me already - I was overwhelmed, there were a few tears shed. I'm so happy, I can't explain it.""
Macauley Bonne, aged 30, progressed from playing for Maldon & Tiptree in the eighth tier to joining Zimbabwe's squad for the Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco. He could face stars such as Mohamed Salah and Omar Marmoush in his first major international tournament. Bonne scored on his Zimbabwe debut 11 years ago but has only four additional caps since. He described being emotional after missing recent camps and then being selected by a new manager who already knew him. Zimbabwe missed the previous Afcon due to a FIFA ban but qualified for Afcon 2025 and face Egypt, South Africa and Angola.
Read at www.bbc.com
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