Chronicle EditorSimba Jemwa, Sports Reporter
ALLEGATIONS of harassment and sexual abuse of young female footballers within their respective clubs in Bulawayo have surfaced, and the new claims come in the wake of reported pregnancies as a result of the abuses.
A number of female footballers are reported to have become victims of sexual abuse, harassment and bullying from within the game especially by male coaches who dominate this segment of the game in the Zifa Southern Region Women’s Soccer League.
Sources involved with women’s football claim that many young girls who are playing women’s football today or have retired from the game suffered from sexual assault and harassment during their careers.
The new claims come in the wake of reports that one male coach (name supplied) lives with eight of his players at his home in the city, while two others impregnated girls who play either for their clubs or a rival club in the league.
“One of our coaches (name supplied) in the league is staying with his players at his house. How does an adult man live with eight young female players who are not even related to him? He doesn’t even have a proper job and survives through hustling and struggles to even pay match fees. Maybe they pay rent by sleeping with him and evidence is there because he impregnated two of his players and the children are now school going age. This just shows you that the abuse has been ongoing for ages and nothing has been done to stop it.
“He got two of the girls pregnant and still continued to live with them both until one of them left and returned to her family home. Another coach (name supplied) got a young player (name supplied) on his team pregnant and was forced to marry her and now lives with her. She is still playing for his team,” added the source.
Yet another club coach has been accused of impregnating a player from a rival team and forced her to lie about the extent of their relationship. The girl in question (name supplied) initially opened up about the coach and their relationship but changed the tune and suggested that she was no longer his player when she fell pregnant. The player also claimed that when she fell pregnant, the coach was still unmarried and she was a team manager at another club.
“This girl was forced to change her story because the coach threatened to cut her and the baby off financially if she revealed the truth,” said the source.
Efforts to get a comment from Zifa Women Southern Region chairman Takundwa Chimundiya were fruitless.
@RealSimbaJemwa
Online Reporter