Online Reporter
Veronica Gwaze, Zimpapers Sports Hub
Fifa have stepped in to back Zifa’s push to revive women’s football, giving fresh weight to a long awaited reset for the girls’ and women’s game.
The support comes as Zifa, working closely with Fifa, unveiled the Zifa Women’s Football Development Strategy in Harare yesterday. Running under the banner “Her Game, Her Time”, the plan will guide the sport’s rebuilding from 2025 to 2028. It targets every layer of the system, from the youngest age groups to the senior national team.
The document sets a clear path for professionalising and stabilising the women’s game. It also reflects the findings from this year’s nationwide consultations carried out by Zifa and Fifa experts.
Speaking at the launch, Zifa vice president Loveness Mukura said the moment signals a serious shift in how the game will be handled going forward.
“Today is more than a ceremonial occasion, it is the beginning of a new era for the women’s game and a moment that reflects our commitment, unity of purpose and our belief in the potential in women football, in Zimbabwe,” she said.
She credited Fifa for standing by Zifa throughout the process, from capacity building to resources and technical guidance. Mukura also praised the executive led by Zifa president Nqobile Magwizi, saying their leadership helped unlock the national consultative forums that shaped the strategy.
Those forums drew in schools, clubs, academies, regional structures, coaches, players, administrators and community voices.
“The strategy therefore is not an abstract version but a product of national dialogue, shared aspirations and collective wisdom of the football family. The women’s leadership also made sure that this process was inclusive, well researched and anchored around realities and our ambitions.”
The strategy is built around five key pillars. One focuses on the player pathway, which outlines a clear route for girls from grassroots to the elite level. Zifa plans to strengthen development in the Under 8, Under 13, Under 17 and Under 20 age groups and to widen talent identification in a more open and aggressive way.
Fifa Women’s Football Technical Expert Thubelihle Sibanda said the strategy also stresses stronger schools structures, deeper collaboration with Naph and Nash, and more meaningful competitions. She said year round football, proper safeguarding training and consistent scouting must become the norm.
This approach, she added, ensures young girls aren’t excluded and have space to grow, develop and gain confidence.
“The other most important pillar is on talent and performance, which is to do with national teams and the elite environment,” she said. “It aims to build a structured high performance culture, one that promotes regular training camps, quality coaching, robust scouting systems, scientific support and competitive participation.”
Despite the progress, Zifa Women Football Development Lead Ivy Mukahanana said the low involvement of women in coaching and administration remains a concern. Only 2 000 female players are licensed on Fifa Connect, while the country has just 13 Caf licensed female coaches and 10 women commissioners.
Mukahanana encouraged more women to step forward next year, adding that Zifa are committed to creating an environment where the women’s game can grow.
“The launch of this strategy should be a turn around moment for women’s football, as Zimbabwe, we are still lagging behind, especially in embracing Fifa connect licensing, which is one of Fifa’s blueprints for our game’s development,” she said.
“While the local game has made strides in pushing for the certification of coaches, these statistics show that we are still lagging behind. Our game cannot evolve if we take lightly these issues, so I can assure you that we are going to see more women getting involved in the Women’s game next year, further, this strategy cannot serve a purpose if it is not implemented…we now need all hands on deck as we implement it.”
Zimbabwe at present has four women’s national teams (U15, U17, U20 and senior) and active provincial leagues. Participation remains low, but Zifa believe the new roadmap can begin to close those gaps.
