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Ellina Mhlanga Sports Reporter
MIGHTY Warriors striker Kudakwashe Basopo yesterday said there was need for the nation to recognise the team’s efforts and treat the women’s senior national soccer side with the same respect given to their male counterparts. After writing another success story on Sunday, by qualifying for the Africa Women Cup of Nations and arriving back home yesterday, Basopo said their heroic efforts were not being appreciated.
“Since we are representing the country we just want the nation to acknowledge our efforts, just appreciate what have achieved as the Mighty Warriors,” she said.
“Even to just come and say thank you, that will motivate us and it will keep us going. And we can do better. “We want to be treated equally with the boys because we are equal. We are all Zimbabweans, we have made our country proud because we are Zimbabweans.
“We do not want to embarrass our country because we are not getting anything but we keep on fighting because we love our country. “Our parents help us sometimes, they encourage us. We need to work together as a country and we keep hoping that it will get better one day.”
The Black Rhinos striker played a big role by scoring the solitary goal at home before scoring the opener in Zambia, guiding the Mighty Warriors through 4-2 on aggregate.
“I am happy. I thank God. What I had promised, that I was going to score again in Zambia, is what happened. The Lord made it possible for us, we would not have done this on our own.
“I thank my teammates also. We played as a team and when I scored I was really excited because I thought it was going to be difficult for me after scoring at home,” she said.
Vice-captain Nobuhle Majika said the qualification for the Africa Cup has boosted their confidence ahead of the Olympics in August.
“We are really happy to qualify for the Africa Women Cup of Nations. It boosts our confidence ahead of the Olympics. We now believe that we can play any team at the Games, even those big teams.
“As women we support each other, we play as a team. Even if we do not have a league that is running at the moment, we know that when we go back home we have to work hard to improve our game.
“And when we meet we do our best, we help each other.
“This qualification is because of the hard work that we put in. And as long as the nation supports us, we feel encouraged and we will keep on pushing.
“We believe this will inspire other young upcoming players and also people will appreciate women’s football,” said Majika.
Midfielder Emmaculate Msipa said it’s a dream come true as they have been waiting for a long time to compete at the continental jamboree.
“I am happy with the qualification, it’s a big achievement. I never thought we would qualify. I didn’t think we would qualify but through hard work we have made it.
“We are hoping to bring gold from Cameroon. We are also expecting to do well at the Olympics,” said Msipa.
Another striker, Samkelisiwe Zulu, who scored the second goal on Sunday, believes with proper preparations they can do better.
“We need to have the league running. It will help us with our preparations. We can start with the league and when we come to the national team, we have more friendly matches before we go to the afcon finals, it will help us,” said Zulu.
The senior women’s team number one goalkeeper, Chido Dzingirai, could not hide her joy as she said it has been a long wait for them.
“We are happy since it’s our first time to qualify since 2004.
“It was a tough match but we managed to get the right results. We have to maintain our discipline and maintain our rhythm,” said Dzingirai.
Zimbabwe participated in the 2000, 2002 and 2004 editions.
And the Mighty Warriors will return to the continental stage later this year, with the tournament running from November 19 to December 3 in Cameroon.
Online Reporter