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Grace Chingoma Sports Reporter
THE Mighty Warriors did not lose their bid to qualify for the African Women Championship on Sunday when they lost 1-0 to Zambia at Nkoloma Stadium in Lusaka.
Neither did they lose it when they failed to utilise the home advantage and succumbed to a 0-1 at Rufaro two weeks ago.
They lost it in March at zifa Village when the zifa women’s football councillors decided that the former women soccer boss Mavis Gumbo was no longer good enough for office and had her replaced.
There is nothing wrong with change but when decisions are done prematurely, driven by emotions and not reasoning, then it becomes a problem which will return to haunt the beautiful game.
Interestingly, when the previous zifa board was being attacked left, right and centre in the media by soccer fans and neutrals, one name stood out with a lot of people praising Gumbo as the only board member who was doing her part to uplift the game and women’s football in general.
Ironically, she was the one who was booted out.
But as the new board clocks 100 days in office this weekend, three remarkable things have happened.
The women’s football NetOne Cup final has not been played and is hanging in the balance with finalists Black Rhinos Queens and Inline Academy waiting for a game that never seems to come.
No word has come from the Board as to why the tournament, whose earlier rounds ran smoothly before the polls, has not yet reached its conclusion.
The revival of the national league, which was used as a campaign tool by the new board chairperson Miriam Sibanda, and for which Gumbo was heavily attacked after it failed to kick off last year, has not kicked off.
And, the Mighty Warriors have failed to qualify for the African Women Championship in one of the easiest routes to Windhoek.
A preliminary round match against Botswana and a date against Zambia was all the Mighty Warriors needed to navigate to navigate their way to the Promised Land.
In the previous afcon campaign, Zimbabwe, who had just spent two years of inactivity, met Nigeria in the first round after overcoming Botswana and, as expected, they found the going tough against the West African powerhouse.
Before 2010, there was virtually nothing to talk about in terms of women’s football, after the exciting days of the early 2000s when the Mighty Warriors had made it to the AWC by invitation.
Reports coming from Lusaka that the team again boycotted training ahead of the crucial match suggest that things have fallen apart.
Gumbo used to knock on the doors of the corporate world.
Some sponsors chose to remain anonymous and help the team with airfares as they took on the world, travelling to Egypt, Uruguay and Germany in search of international exposure.
Some, like Marange Diamonds, Mbada Diamonds and NetOne served football openly.
Preparations ahead of international games were taken seriously and the Mighty Warriors would go into camp for a month in places such as Hwange to prepare for crucial matches.
Teams such as Zambia were the Mighty Warriors’ punching bag and to try and stomach that the same team denied us a place at the continental showcase is hard to comprehend.
In previous camps, the Mighty Warriors would play friendly matches, travel to different places and enjoy camps.
Often the girls would speak of how happy they were, with adequate food, safe transport, and even sanitary wear available for them at all times.
I was there when one woman revived women’s football in this country and her vision helped the Mighty Warriors to rise again.
Now I can only watch and wonder what next for this team?
Without Gumbo, things look different and, as they say in this game, results don’t lie.
African Women Championship finalists:
Namibia, South Africa, Nigeria, Algeria, Cameroon, Zambia, Ghana, Cote D Ivoire.
Online Reporter