Online Reporter
Langton Nyakwenda-Zimpapers Sports Hub
MIGHTY WARRIORS coach, Sitethelelwe “Kwinji 15” Sibanda has been there and done that in football.
She has broken boundaries, made history and still continues to scale heights.
Last week, she became the first female coach from Zimbabwe to qualify with a FIFA Educators Diploma.
She was also the first Zimbabwean woman to earn a CAF A badge, before becoming the first woman to coach a Premier Soccer League team.
In Kigali last week, Sibanda was one of the four Zimbabwean coaches who graduated with the coveted FIFA diploma.
Former ZIFA technical director, Wilson Mtekede, Manica Diamonds coach Tafadzwa Mashiri and ex-ZIFA coach education officer Joseph Sibindi also attended the programme.
“Beyond training coaches, they (FIFA Coach Educators), help design learning environments, share modern football methodologies and ensure that coaching standards align with global best practice.
“Their work ultimately influences how the game is taught at every level, from grassroots football to the elite professional game,” wrote ZIFA on their website.
As Sibanda prepares to start a new chapter in her illustrious football journey, she cannot afford to forget about the challenges facing women in football.
“It’s quite amazing, really.
“I’m happy to have finally managed to get this diploma done.
“It’s been a gruesome journey, lots of reading, but, yeah, very entertaining moments where we travelled and met different coaches from different countries,” said Sibanda.
She led Zimbabwe’s Mighty Warriors to fourth position at the 2025 COSAFA Women’s Championship in Polokwane, South Africa, early this month.
She might have broken records and made history but the former Mighty Warriors international insists that she doesn’t care much about that, as long as “she is doing what she loves most.”
“Being the first lady to do something is no longer a new thing.
“I coached a Premier Soccer League side Tsholotsho, I am the only woman in Zimbabwe with a CAF A badge.
“But for me, at the end of the day, it’s not about being the only lady or whatsoever.
“For me, the most important thing, is about doing what I like.
“It’s about working towards what I want to be at the end of the day’’.
She might have been involved in football for decades, starting off as a national team player before graduating into coaching, but Sibanda feels women are still being undermined.
“Sometimes you get maybe other ladies undermining you also.
‘There are still men like that around but I must say I have also received a lot of support from different male coaches from different countries.
“There are some who insult you in WhatsApp groups but that does not stop you,’’ she said.
Sibanda says she has had to develop thick skin over the years.
She has some advice to other women n football.
“My totem tells you all. I am a lioness and I am strong as ever, sometimes you don’t need the whole world to love you.
“At times people are very, very jealous because maybe they think you don’t deserve to be there, or because they just literally don’t like you.
“But those are small things that we don’t care about.
“This is my advice to other women out there who want to do whatever they want, whether it’s a male-dominated field or whatsoever.
“You just need to put your energy there and forget about all the negatives that people say,” added Sibanda.
She comes from Filabusi but played her football in Bulawayo before she graduated into the Mighty Warriors team which had the likes of ex-Zimbabwe captain Rosemary Mugadza, Pretty Phiri and Ruth Banda.
Bongani Ndlovu