Six months on, women’s football still get nothing

Veronica Gwaze

Zimpapers Sports Hub

WHEN a new ZIFA leadership took charge six months ago, hopes ran high in women’s football.

Players and coaches expected overdue support and investment.

ZIFA president Nqobile Magwizi and his board promised a fresh start. Women’s football, he said, would be a top priority.

But half a year later, little has changed.

Domestic women’s teams are still camping in poor facilities, scrapping by without adequate support and going unpaid for national duty.

Magwizi made bold commitments.

He said women’s teams would get better financial compensation and that ZIFA would back the national squads with action, not just words. “You have set a good example for football and for the nation,” Magwizi said in one of his speeches.

“ZIFA takes seriously the responsibility to support the national teams not only with words but tangible action.

“Over the past months, we have worked tirelessly to ensure that teams are well prepared for their respective competitions by providing adequate camps, technical resources, and logistics.”

But that promised change hasn’t come.

Instead, there’s growing frustration over the gap between words and results.

ZIFA officials say they’re still restructuring internally in order to meet FIFA funding requirements. Unlike the Normalisation Committee, which leaned heavily on FIFA grants, the current board is expected to raise most of their funding independently.

FIFA’s role is now limited to top-ups, not full financial backing. To unlock those FIFA funds, ZIFA must meet several conditions which include audits, international match participation and administrative benchmarks. For now, that means there’s little to no money available for women’s football.

And from what little is available, women’s teams appear to be low on the priority list.

Both the Under-17 and Under-20 women’s teams played in key tournaments in May, the COSAFA U-17 Girls Championship and the FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

They’re yet to be paid.

Players are still waiting for camping allowances, participation fees and bonuses.

The Young Mighty Warriors reached the U17 semi-finals in South Africa. The U-20s narrowly lost 1–0 to Rwanda in Kigali, ending their World Cup qualification run.

ZIFA insists they cleared all dues.

“We paid all their dues, currently we do not owe them anything,” said the association.

But players and coaches dispute that.

“Those are blatant lies,” one player said. “We haven’t been paid yet. It’s sad that we have to wait this long when other teams get paid promptly.”

“If they say they paid, who did they give the money to? Football is our livelihood, but with this kind of treatment, some players just give up.”

The Mighty Warriors’ senior team has faced similar neglect. Since their 2016 Olympic Games appearance, they have struggled.

They have not qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations since then and have only made three appearances in the tournament since 1998.

The Rio qualification briefly inspired optimism. But it didn’t last.

During the 2016 AFCON qualifiers, players were left to camp at ZIFA Village on sadza and kapenta. Then there are the missing FIFA funds.

Past ZIFA boards have faced allegations of diverting development grants meant for the women’s game. The Women’s Premier Soccer League is in dire shape too.

In 2024, under the Normalisation Committee, ZWPSL received US$200,000 from a FIFA grant. Each of the 16 teams got US$10 000.

Today, there’s been no follow-up support. The only money the league seen this year is a one-time US$10 000 donation from Ponera Constructions.