Chronicle Editor
Chidochashe Kossam, [email protected]
IN recent years, women have been making significant strides in the sports industry, breaking barriers and shattering glass ceilings that have long existed in what was once a male-dominated field.
From leading sports organisations to coaching teams and serving as referees, women are increasingly taking on influential positions in sports.
The Southern African Development Community (Sadc) Protocol on Gender and Development, which was adopted in 2008, recognises the importance of gender equality in all aspects of life, including sports.
The protocol calls for the elimination of gender-based discrimination and the promotion of equal opportunities for women and men in sports.
While strides are being made with some of them at the helm, questions continue to be asked when Dynamos and Highlanders, the country’s two major football clubs, will one day wake up under the control of women.
One of the women who has been making waves in the sports industry is Yvonne Manwa-Mapika, the recently appointed chief executive officer of the Zimbabwe Football Association (Zifa).
Manwa-Mapika who was appointed last November, was the chief executive officer of Ngezi Platinum Stars.
Heading Zifa, with football the biggest sport in the country, is a real victory for women in the fight for gender balance. Mwanwa-Mapika is aware how hot the seat is having done her apprenticeship at club level and knowing well that another woman Henrietta Rushwaya was heroine when she changed the outlook of Zifa Headquarters in Harare but turned villain when she was entangled in the Asiagate scandal.
Another woman who has been making her mark in sports is Kudzai Bare, the public relations officer for the Premier Soccer League (PSL).
Bare, who was appointed to the position in 2019, is responsible for managing the league’s image and promoting its activities.
She has been praised for her innovative approach to marketing and her ability to engage fans.
Eltah Nengomasha heads Zimbabwe’s regulatory body, the Sport and Recreation Commission as its director-general, a post previously held by another woman over a decade ago, Patience Kabanda.
This demonstrates Zimbabwe’s commitment to gender balance and promoting meritocracy without bias.
Another woman who is seen as a high flyer Tafadzwa Bhasera, the chief executive officer of Harare City Football club who broke barriers to head a club owned by the biggest local authority in the country.
She is also former team manager of the Zimbabwe women’s national football team, the Mighty Warriors.
With so many women in key positions, it is no surprise that the Minister of Youth, Sports, Arts and Recreation, Kirsty Coventry is a woman as Zimbabwe sport navigates through stereotyping that saw women sidelined in the past.
As the Minister of Youth, Sport, Arts, and Recreation, Coventry plays a crucial role in overseeing and promoting youth development, sports, arts and recreational activities in Zimbabwe.
Chido Chizondo, the FC Platinum spokesperson is also among women who have made their presence felt in sport by attaining notable positions.
She is responsible for handling public relations and communication for the club.
Amanda Nyanzero is the chief executive officer of Ngezi Platinum Stars, the first to win a Castle Lager title while holding that position.
Her role involves overseeing the operations and management of the club. Her appointment has been celebrated as a significant milestone for women in sports leadership.
Anna Mguni is the World Rowing Development Consultant for Africa a notable milestone in sports leadership for a woman.
She has worked with various organisations, including the Zimbabwe Rowing Association and the African Rowing Confederation, to develop rowing programmes and competitions in Africa.
Mguni has also been a vocal advocate for gender equality in sports and has worked to increase opportunities for women in rowing and prior to that she was the Zimbabwe Olympic Committee chief executive.
Even within the Government corridors, there is also Eugenia Chidhakwa, the director of sports in the Ministry of Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation.
She has been involved in various initiatives to promote women’s participation in sports and has been recognised for her contributions in this area.
Meanwhile, Zimpapers Sports Hub sought to find an answer to a million dollar question why Highlanders has never had a voted female member.
The club does not discriminate women from participating in the club’s administration as elected members.
This was confirmed by the club’s spokesperson Nozibelo Maphosa on Wednesday as Bosso is once again holding elections without a woman contesting for a post.
Three vacancies will need filling on February 4, a week after the team’s annual general meeting. No woman had by last night picked up a nomination form for the post of chairman, executive secretary or committee member.
Highlanders has employed women in its secretariat from the 1980s.
Other women have played roles in the once vibrant Highlanders Sports Association which once embraced some sporting disciplines but there is yet to be one on the club’s five member executive or board.
Asked whether women were not allowed to contest Maphosa said: “We don’t discriminate on who runs for these elections, they are open to every member of the club who is in good standing with the club.”
There are a number of reasons why women may not want to participate in the club’s administration as volunteers (Executive members).
Buhle Ncube who runs Sportsgrind says traditional stereotyping by Zimbabweans may be contributing to that.
“As you always hear men saying we cannot be led by women especially in the Nguni tribes, we even get those comments when just seated on the terraces watching the beautiful game. You hear them making insulting comments against women at stadium. So I think there is no woman who is ready yet to face that kind of verbal abuse,” said Ncube.
She said her mental health is of paramount importance and may consider running in the near future when mindsets change.
“In the near future when they understand that leadership is not about gender but one’s ability to lead, I will consider contesting,” said Ncube.
Samkeliso Silengane who is among the drivers of the revival of the Highlanders Royals, said it is about time women united and fought to have one of them sit in the executive. She said that can only be achieved if women at the club united and worked for the institution and towards having at least one of them standing for elections.
The number of female supporters at Highlanders has increased and they have made replicas look fashionable.
Another Bosso supporter and member Nokuthaba ‘Mrs Brito’ Nkala said women are despised and this affects their self-esteem hence are reluctant to contest.
“If a woman contests, I will vote for a fellow woman but the challenge is that when we get voted we are accused of being in relationships,” she said.
Nkala said even her nickname “Mrs Brito” earned her lots of insults.
“The Mrs Brito joke was for fun and the love of the game,” said Nkala.
She said women who are into sport are usually tagged as “bird girls”.
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