Online Reporter
Zimpapers Sports Hub
It’s May 17, 2025 and the Rufaro Stadium car park is alive with noise, colour and unfiltered joy.
Herentals Queens have just pulled off a stunning 1-0 upset against former champions Ngezi Platinum Stars and celebrations erupt in every corner of the grounds.
Among the euphoric crowd, mostly Herentals players and diehard fans, stands Morelife Nyagumbo. Unlike her teammates, who are singing and dancing with wild abandon, her smile is softer, her joy tempered. She celebrates, yes, but with a quiet humility that hints at just how far she’s come.
Nyagumbo is still adjusting. New to Harare. New to Herentals. New to life away from the only place she has ever called home, Faith Drive, a remarkable fusion of a football club and children’s home nestled in Mutare.
“I was adopted by Faith Drive more than eight years ago after they spotted me at a football tournament in Rusape,” she recalls.
“This became home for me. It’s where my football journey began. Coming to Herentals, everything feels different, exciting, but unfamiliar.”
Indeed, the 2024 Zimbabwe Women’s Premier Soccer League season proved transformative for the young forward. It wasn’t just her breakout year, it was her emergence from the shadows into national recognition.
With 21 goals to her name, she closed the season as Faith Drive’s top scorer. Her powerful, purposeful play earned her a call up to the Mighty Warriors for the Women’s AFCON Qualifiers. She had arrived, and with impact.
It was no surprise when Herentals Queens, reigning league champions, came calling. Under coach Simbarashe Dedza, they were building a formidable squad to defend their title and prepare for their Champions League campaign. Nyagumbo, with her promise and precision, was an obvious addition.
But this triumph came with a tinge of sorrow.
Leaving behind Mbuya Nelia Musikavanhu, the 67-year-old founder of Faith Drive, felt like leaving behind a part of her soul.
“This is the first time I’ve been away from her for so long,” Nyagumbo admits, her voice cracking. I have to get used to it, but it’s hard. She’s more than a mother to me. The move brought a lot of opportunities and financial benefits, and I’m happy, but I miss Mbuya Musikavanhu.”
A matriarch in every sense, Mbuya Musikavanhu discovered Nyagumbo, then a malnourished 13-year-old from the dusty streets of Rusape, and brought her into the Faith Drive family. There, alongside over 50 other girls, Nyagumbo found more than food and shelter. She found purpose. A team. A dream.
“She gave me a second chance,” Nyagumbo says. “At Faith Drive, we didn’t play for money. We played because we loved the game. We were a group of girls united by passion.”
Herentals represents something new. Bigger crowds, higher stakes, actual salaries. But also: a future she once thought out of reach.
“I always dreamt of making a move that would allow me to give back. I want to spoil Mbuya Musikavanhu. I want to support my biological parents. This move to Herentals is the first step in making that dream come true.”
And while she’s still finding her feet in the pink and white of Herentals, Nyagumbo is already learning and growing.
“I’m surrounded by talent. Every day I pick up something new. At Faith Drive, it was easy to relax, it was home. But here, I’ve had to step out of my comfort zone. The competition is fierce, and that pushes me to work harder.”
Each time she steps onto the pitch, she carries not just the Herentals badge on her chest but also the dreams of those she left behind in Mutare. Faith Drive isn’t just her past, it’s her fuel.
Today, Herentals travel to Mkushi Grounds to face Black Mambas. The hosts are still searching for their first points of the season, while Herentals sit in third place with a perfect 18 points from six matches. The stakes are high, but so is the belief in the camp.
Fixtures:
Platinum Royals vs Maningi (Mandava), Harare City Queens vs Conduit Academy (The Heart), Mpopoma Academy vs Chapungu (Bulawayo Chiefs Village), Highlanders Royals vs Kwekwe United (Bulawayo Chiefs Village-13:00 hrs), Correctional Queens vs Faith Drive (Wagadhugu), Red Buffalos vs Black Rhinos (Vengere), Black Mambas vs Herentals (Mkushi Grounds)
