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Grace Chingoma, Harare Bureau
ZIFA vice-president Omega Sibanda, Zimbabwe Women’s Soccer League chairperson Rosemary Kanonge and Women’s Football administrator Theresa Maguraushe are in Morocco attending the historic Caf Women’s Football Symposium which began yesterday.
The two-day event is being attended by a number of high-profile figures in the sport who include Caf president Ahmad and Fifa general-secretary Fatma Samoura.
According to Caf website, the symposium, running under the theme “Raising Our Game”, is expected to chart a new course for the development of women’s football on the continent.
A number of various stakeholders are in Marrakech to exchange ideas about raising the profile of the game.
The Zimbabwean delegation joins representatives from other football associations, former and current players, coaches and media and some Fifa experts in the seminar which is expected to put women’s football in Africa on the map.
The resolutions from the various working groups will be adopted and submitted to the Caf executive committee for review pending implementation.
Some of the topics that will come under discussion are how to expand women’s football, place of media and communication in dynamising women’s football, governance concept in women’s football and means of development of sponsorship for women’s football.
Upon returning from the symposium, Sibanda is expected to outline this year’s Africa Cup of Nations programme for the national women’s team.
The Mighty Warriors have been inactive since finishing as runners-up to South Africa in the Cosafa Championships in Bulawayo last September.
They will begin their 2018 Africa Women’s Nations Cup qualifiers against Namibia next month and yesterday Zifa spokesperson, Xolisani Gwesela, said his week they will give an update on the Mighty Warriors’ training programme ahead of the important fixture.
The Association officials are believed to have met with the head coach, Sithethelelwe “Kwinji 15” Sibanda, to deliberate on the upcoming game.
Sibanda has since set her target on qualifying for the 2018 African Women’s Nations Cup in Ghana and indicated she would want her players to feature in some friendly matches to shake off the rust in her team.
The qualifiers, which were initially scheduled to start this month, were moved by a month to pave way for the Morroco symposium.
But after the indaba it will be down to business for most associations.
Currently, Banyana Banyana are in Europe for the Cyprus Women’s Cup and have since featured against Hungary, Slovakia and North Korea opposition.
Online Reporter