Online Reporter
Eddie Chikamhi
Zimpapers Sports Hub
THE new ZIFA board has pledged to follow up a promise made nine years ago to reward the women’s senior football team with 30 residential stands following their qualification for the 2016 Olympic Games.
This was revealed by the association’s president, Nqobile Magwizi, when he made presentations to the Sports and Recreation Commission seeking assistance to bring the long-standing matter to finality.
The promise to avail residential stands as a reward to the Mighty Warriors was announced by then Minister of Sport and Recreation Makhosini Hlongwane after the team had qualified for the Rio Games as well as the 2016 Africa Women Cup of Nations finals.
Sadly, nine years down the line, the beneficiaries are still to get their stands. Magwizi said the new ZIFA board, which was ushered in last month, was eager to get the promise fulfilled.
“When the women went to the Olympics in 2016, they were promised some stands. Am I correct?” he said in his deliberations with the SRC board members and staff.
“So, we are going to come to you with that issue. We want to follow it up. That’s what we want. These national team players who raised our flag high during that time were given that promise.
“So, I hope you will be able to enlighten us with that one because it’s a very important aspect. It sets the right tone and right attitude even for us as an administration to be able to fulfil our obligations,” said Magwizi.
The Mighty Warriors made history when they became the first football team from this country to qualify for the finals of a major global event by qualifying for the Olympic Games in 2016.
They beat continental heavyweights Cameroon in the final qualifying round the previous year to achieve the feat.
The Mighty Warriors again qualified for the finals of the Africa Women Cup of Nations when they beat Zambia in the final qualifying round.
It was at the dinner to celebrate that feat when Hlongwane announced Government’s intentions.
Hlongwane proclaimed during that dinner that Government was not in a position to offer cash rewards but would certainly avail 30 housing stands in Harare.
“From our side as Government we have decided that in the absence of cash, which is difficult given the constraints within our fiscal space, we are going to go kind,” said Hlongwane then.
“And I can announce now that we have put together here in Harare today 30 residential stands for the Mighty Warriors . . . That’s the Government’s appreciation of what the girls have done.”
However, members of the Mighty Warriors team have tried without success to follow up on the promise. Sports Commission chairman Gerald Mlotshwa concurred that if a promise was made publicly, it has to be fulfilled.
Fellow Commissioner Nigel Munyati said there was a need for a change of attitude towards women’s football in this country.
“It’s actually reminding me of something about football and women. There has been a tendency to look at women’s football as an institution of a lower grade, with more attention given to the Warriors than the Mighty Warriors; they don’t get the same attention.
“But something that I should remind us all is that the most successful achievements in Zimbabwean football are actually through women’s football.
“They made it to the Olympics in 2016; the men haven’t gotten that far. So, we must appreciate that. I think it’s an area that needs to change,” said Munyati.
The Mighty Warriors are currently in camp preparing for the CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations 2026 Qualifiers against Angola later this month.
They play the first leg away in Luanda on February 20. They will then host the Angolans six days later at their adopted home ground, Lucas Moripe Stadium in South Africa, since Zimbabwe currently does not have a CAF-approved stadium for international matches.
If they get past the Angola hurdle, Zimbabwe will then face the winner between Malawi and Congo.
Might Warriors coach Sithethelwe Sibanda was excited by the progress her team has made in the preparations.
“We are done with our weekly cycling, and there’s been a lot of progress really from the players,” she said at the weekend.
“Our main concentration on this week’s cycle was to really get their fitness level to at least close to performance level, which has gone down well because I think for now we are about at 75 percent.
“This means they can really now compete, and we still have another week to go. We are going to again work on the tactical part and also obviously support the conditioning part to make sure come match day we are ready for the game,” said Sibanda.
