Online Reporter
Langton Nyakwenda
THE Zimbabwe senior women’s national team will host Angola at Lucas Moripe Stadium in Pretoria on Wednesday, a thousand kilometres away from their home venue in Harare.
However, the Mighty Warriors will not be alone in their quest to secure a spot in the 2026 Africa Women’s Cup of Nations (AWCON) finals, as hundreds of fans plan to make the trip to South Africa to support their team.
The Mighty Warriors are facing a tough challenge after suffering a narrow 2-1 defeat in the first leg of
the AWCON qualifier in Luanda last week.
Winners of the tie will face Malawi in the final round of qualifiers for the finals to be staged in Morocco.
While there is a sizeable population of Zimbabweans living in Pretoria and surrounding areas, the Mighty Warriors will be cheered on by hundreds of fans who are set to travel to South Africa for the crunch match.
In a gesture that is a first of its kind, Simba Bhora owner Simba Ndoro has provided a bus that will ferry female supporters to Pretoria.
The move has been saluted by ZIFA president Nqobile Magwizi.
“The Zimbabwe Football Association extends its heartfelt appreciation to Simba Bhora Football Club and their president, Mr Simba Ndoro, for their generous gesture in providing a bus to ferry female supporters to Pretoria for the Mighty Warriors’ crucial
second-leg AWCON qualifier against Angola on Wednesday, February 26.
“This act of generosity by Simba Bhora Football Club is a testament to the unity and shared vision we have for Zimbabwean football.
“Their support will go a long way in boosting the morale of our team and fostering a stronger football culture.
“We are deeply grateful for their contribution,” said Magwizi.
The Mighty Warriors have not been to the AWCON finals since 2016.
Lack of support from previous ZIFA boards have largely contributed to the demise of women’s football in Zimbabwe.
The recently elected board led by Magwizi has made sure the girls are well catered for.
The Mighty Warriors are already in Pretoria, where they held a recovery training session on Friday.
Zimbabwe failed to contain the Angolans, who hit the target through double-scorer Aminda Lopes Papel. Papel’s goals sandwiched Ruvimbo Mucherera’s maiden strike for Zimbabwe.
Coach Sithethelelwe “Kwinji 15” Sibanda has reassured the nation that her charges will be psyched up for the return leg and can overturn the single goal deficit to progress to the next round.
She acknowledged her girls were never up to it in critical phases of play in that first leg.
“Maybe if we can rectify in terms of our finishing, taking those chances, then we could do better.
“2-1 is a very narrow scoreline that we can cover up in South Africa,” she said.
“We need to really maintain the positives that we picked up and try really to stabilise defensively. I think we did not manage the distances very well.
“Tracking and covering for each other was very slow, if we can manage that and utilise our chances, that narrow deficit can be overturned.”
Israel-based striker Mucherera scored on his debut and her contribution was welcomed by Sibanda.
“I think she played really well on her debut but we had to pull her out because she was struggling with decision-making,” she said.
“It happens with players but we also had to make sure that she wouldn’t be handed another yellow card and be out of the second leg.”
