Chronicle Editor
Sikhumbuzo Moyo, Senior Sports Reporter
BULAWAYO-based Ladies Amateur Football Association(Lafa) faces an uncertain future due to lack of funding as a result of migration of three teams to the Zifa Division One League.
Lafa was established in 2018 by women’s football enthusiast Lee Mangena, who also owns Street Set ladies’ team.
“There is no doubt that Lafa provided and filled a huge vacuum in women’s football. It was affordable for many teams as our aim was really to provide a platform for girls. Most teams couldn’t afford the high affiliation fees of the national league and even the provincial Division One League hence Lafa came in and we had a really competitive league, which otherwise would have seen most of these girls resorting to other social ills due to idleness,” said Mangena.
“Now that we are joining the Division One League as Street Set together with three other teams, it will be difficult to try and keep the Lafa project afloat, but if funding comes along, it would be better.”
Lafa was made up of Street Set, Mpopoma, Entumbane, Good Hope, Townsend High, Pumula High, Black Water and Eland.
Meanwhile, Mangena said his side was looking forward to a good year in the Zifa Division One League once the season gets underway after the Covid-19 pandemic has been contained.
“Like all sporting organisations, Street Set is staying home at the moment in compliance with national orders as part of flattening the Covid-19 curve. However, once it’s over and we get back to what we know best, we are ready to do well. We have been a single, compact unit since 2017 and that has also seen us contributing a player to the national team.
“We are working closely with parents in trying to come up with the best supported ladies soccer team in the country. Supporters and well-wishers structures are being put together,” said Mangena.
The Bulawayo Division One League will now have 12 teams following the affiliation of the three Lafa teams.
Bulawayo Queens, Highlanders Royals, Ubuntu, Las Palmas, ZRP, Biya and Friends, Magwegwe, Sobukhazi, Mpopoma, Entumbane, New Orleans and Street Set are the ladies’ teams set to compete in Division One when sporting activities resume.
Bulawayo was once the backbone of women’s football in Zimbabwe and at one time New Orleans provided eight players in the starting line-up of the Mighty Warriors, but a combination of maladministration and financial challenges eroded that dominance.
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