Online Reporter
Veronica Gwaze-Zimpapers Sports Hub
ZIMBABWE’S Mighty Warriors have declared themselves ready as they return to international action with a sojourn to Ndola, Zambia today for a Four-Nations Women’s football tournament for which coach Sithethelelwe “Kwinji 15” Sibanda targeting silverware.
But the bigger picture for Sibanda is to ensure that the Mighty Warriors harness from this trip as much Olympics preparation as they can.
Former Zimbabwe international Sibanda also believes that her charges who have been working hard at training in Harare ahead of their departure for Zambia, are more match-ready than their last outing.
The Mighty Warriors will face Lesotho in their opening semi-final assignment on Saturday at 12:30pm at Levy Mwanawasa Stadium while hosts Zambia meet Kenya in the second semi-final at the same venue later that afternoon. A win will send Zimbabwe to the final on June 9, while defeat will see them contest third place on the same day.
Sibanda’s charges regrouped earlier this week amid improved fitness compared to the COSAFA tournament in February, where an off-season break in the Zimbabwe Women’s Premier League, left the squad short on match endurance. But this time around there league is well in progress with seven match-days having been already fulfilled.
That development has left Sibanda a happier woman. She noted with satisfaction that the players are sharper physically and mentally.
And thanks to the efforts by ZIFA to give all national teams equal opportunities, Sibanda can for the first time in years, also call on her international-based players, widening her selection pool.
“I am happy that we have our internationals back after so long, as a technical team, this is what we would love every time but unfortunately because of different calendars it is a challenge to have them often,” said Sibanda.
“We would have loved to have more of them, there are plenty of Zimbabweans born out there while others migrated but it is only these two who confirmed their availability.
“We had four others in our initial plans but they could not make it. Two of them had work commitments while the other two are nursing injuries.
“However, we are happy to have these two, their availability brings a fresh dimension to our game because they play in different leagues to ours.
“They bring something new and good to the team . . . our new and young players can learn a lot from them while their presence also increases competition in the camp.”
The Mighty Warriors will also bank on Ethel Chinyerere, their evergreen forward, who recently joined Zambia’s Green Buffaloes.
Chinyerere, who is based in Lusaka, is expected to link up with the Mighty Warriors in Ndola. It is against the background of their improved preparations that Sibanda believes that this time her team is in a better shape and that they are ready to battle for silverware.
The last time Zimbabwe featured at the international friendlies was in December 2025 when they played against eventual winners Zambia in the final to settle for silver while hosts Malawi became the bronze medallists.
This time, while they have their eyes on gold, the team seeks to use the tournament as a preparatory platform ahead of the 2028 LA Olympics qualifiers pencilled in for October against Malawi.
“We are grateful for the opportunity to play at the Four-Nations-Tournament, it is important for our players to get that international exposure.
“It is a good opportunity for us because it creates an atmosphere for the team to stay competitive, the games will give a good picture of who really is the perfect fit for that squad with the bigger picture being the Olympic Qualifiers.
“It is good that in the tournament we are playing powerhouses, it will be good competition and it will taste the players in terms of what exactly they can give us.”
Zimbabwe’s biggest threat will be perennial rivals Zambia, a regional powerhouse who have always been the Mighty Warriors’ stumbling block for long. The last time the two teams met was at the COSAFA Cup were they played out a tightly contested goal-less draw in the group stages before the Mighty Warriors suffered a heartbreaking 3-1 defeat in the third place play-off.
Sibanda is, however, optimistic that the Mighty Warriors will triumph at the tournament and predicted a final clash against Zambia.
“We will play our perennial rivals Zambia and this one will be a blockbuster compared to the last time that we met at COSAFA.
“At COSAFA, our players were coming from the offseason hence we were outclassed on fitness and endurance while even cohesion was not up to scratch at the time but now, we are much better,” she said.
“We will also entrust younger players as we are still rebuilding so we have the likes of Bethel Kondo who did well at COSAFA and deserve another dance.”
