Online Reporter
Veronica Gwaze-Zimpapers Sports Hub
THE Zimbabwe women’s football story continues to unfold as a painful cycle of empty promises and broken hearts.
Authorities keep making pledges to the girls, then fail to follow through.
It has now emerged that the Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) has not paid the national Under-17 and Under-20 women’s teams for their participation in last month’s COSAFA and World Cup Qualifier tournaments, respectively.
The players are still owed camping allowances, participation fees and tournament bonuses.
The Young Mighty Warriors represented Zimbabwe at the COSAFA U17 Girls Championship in South Africa, where they bowed out in the semi-finals.
Meanwhile, the Under-20 team was eliminated from the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers after a 2-1 aggregate loss to Rwanda in Kigali.
ZIFA’s failure to meet its obligations, without any official communication, has left players feeling dejected and betrayed.
“It is frustrating that we spend weeks in camp, then go to the tournament, only to return home empty handed,” said a player who requested anonymity.
“Some of us have to support our families, while others are schoolchildren hoping to use that money to clear school debts.
“It is sad when such things happen. Most people out there don’t understand what we go through and end up labelling us as disorganised.”
Clubs are equally disgruntled. They argue that ZIFA has consistently failed to take women’s football seriously, contributing to the downfall of what was once a regional powerhouse.
Their frustration goes beyond unpaid allowances. It’s about years of disrespect and systematic disregard for the girls’ talent and commitment.
“We are upset. We’ve lost faith in the association, and maybe next time, it’s better for clubs not to release players for national duty,” said one club representative.
“It’s proving not to be financially beneficial for our players to represent the country. The women’s game has suffered for a long time, and even the new executive hasn’t brought real solutions.”
ZIFA CEO Yvonne Manwa had not offered a concrete response by last night.
“I promise I will respond . . . today is close to the election nomination and we have the game in Morocco, so it’s a bit hectic,” she said.
This is not the first time women’s national teams have been neglected.
In 2019, ZIFA allegedly paid the Mighty Warriors and national Under-20 players a mere US$15 upon their return from the COSAFA tournament.
This came just a few years after the team made its historic Olympic debut in Brazil in 2016, only to come home with no compensation.
To this day, players say they have not been paid for that trip, or several others.
Even their travel arrangements have often raised concern. On several occasions, the teams were bundled into public transport for long, uncomfortable road journeys.
Yet, when the Nqobile Magwizi-led ZIFA executive took office, they pledged to prioritise women’s football and national teams.
More than 100 days later, the script hasn’t changed.
Speaking last month on The Couch, a programme aired on Zimpapers Television Network (ZTN), Magwizi insisted that change is on the horizon.
“We are working on a framework to ensure that we address that issue adequately. We’ve been working on this for three months now to create a much more robust structure that covers all areas,” he said.
“Women’s football, we believe, can be one of our success stories. So, it’s important that we get it right.”
Magwizi added that ZIFA is seeking collaborations with other football associations to improve the women’s game.
“We went to South Africa to see how they’re doing it. Their league is administered by the South African Football Association,” he said.
“They realised that was the best way to support women’s football and we need to sit down and decide what works best for Zimbabwe.”
ZIFA is also in consultations with local football stakeholders to finalise a sustainable structure for the women’s game. The executive has promised to implement a more streamlined approach to women’s football within five months.
“There is certainly a problem in the game, and we are working hard to come up with a solution that will impress all of us,” Magwizi said.
But with no notable improvements to date, the question remains: Will there ever be meaningful change for women’s football in Zimbabwe?
Peter Tanyanyiwa