adminNgqwele Dube Sports Correspondent
HISTORY making Mighty Warriors coach Shadreck Mlauzi says his next target is qualifying for the Fifa Women’s World Cup set for France in 2019 after his charges made it to the Rio Olympics and African Women Cup of Nations. The former Inline Girls Academy coach was optimistic about his team, saying they would be focusing on making the grade at the continental tourney where the top three make it to the World Cup.
Mlauzi led the Mighty Warriors to a comprehensive 4-2 aggregate victory over Zambia last weekend to qualify for Africa’s premier women football tournament. The
Physical Education teacher said he was enjoying his stint with the national team and he was looking forward to pushing boundaries and achieving more with the team before exploring other opportunities in the coaching world.
“I’m with the Mighty Warriors for the long haul but obviously once we have managed to achieve the goals we set then I can move on to other coaching areas such as men’s football and maybe outside the country. My next target is the 2019 World Cup, which means we have to do extremely well at the Africa Cup of Nations to make it through, but now the focus is on the Olympics and now that the draw is out we would be intensifying our preparations,” said Mlauzi.
Mlauzi’s arrival as head of the Mighty Warriors technical department, in September last year, saw a change in fortunes for the team as they immediately qualified for the 2016 Rio Olympics scheduled for August, a historic achievement as it is the first time Zimbabwe will be sending a football team to the world’s biggest sporting showcase and followed it up with the qualification for the African Women’s Cup of Nations.
The lanky gaffer lauded the unity within the technical department saying it has played a critical role in the team’s success.
Other members of the coaching staff include former Tsholotsho FC assistant coach, Sithethelelwe Sibanda (assistant coach) and Johannes Chikaola, also assistant coach while Peter Masibero is the goalkeepers coach, and former Highlanders coach Barry Daka (technical advisor).
“I am basically driven by three elements, which are hope, faith and ambition. These define me as a person and I believe they have been crucial in enabling the team to achieve so much within a short space of time,” said Mlauzi.
Asked about the difficulties of motivating the players in an environment where they have not be getting just rewards, Mlauzi said his experience in women’s football assists him motivate the girls despite little incentives on board. He said the situation has been like that for a long time as financial rewards were hard to come by in their part of the game.
“The girls appreciate the need to look at the bigger picture and understand the big opportunities that they get from these international tournaments besides the money. It is possible for them to take their careers beyond the borders while widening their experiences and creating other opportunities for themselves,” added the gaffer.
Mlauzi said he was not perturbed by the Olympics draw that saw them being placed in the same group with Germany, Australia and Canada who are in the top 10 of the world rankings, adding football tactics were the same worldwide with the difference only being in preparation and professionalism.
He said other countries may benefit from the experience and having quality infrastructure but they would be going out there to compete with the target being going through the group stages. Mlauzi thanked Harare businessman Wicknell Chivayo who gave the Mighty Warriors $9 000 on Friday and urged more people to come on board and back their cause.
derick.khumalo