Zim lose Afcon to Eq. Guinea

the running to stage the tournament and it is now likely to be held in Equatorial Guinea.
Zifa were in October offered by Caf, a chance to host the women’s version of the Africa Cup of Nations, but are still to get the Government guarantee to host such a tourney.
But it seems Zimbabwe have been overtaken by events, and Equatorial Guinea, who are co-hosting the men’s Africa Cup of Nations in January with Gabon, have also come in with a strong bid to host the tournament.

The previous edition was held in Johannesburg, South Africa, last year and was won by record champions Nigeria with Equatorial Guinea finishing second.
Equatorial Guinea hosted the 2008 edition of the tournament and lifted the trophy on home soil to become the only nation, other than Nigeria, to have won the Women’s Championships.
Although Caf is yet to announce the venue of next year’s tournament, Equatorial Guinea believe they would be adequately prepared for the tourney, which comes eight months after co-hosting the men’s Afcon.

They feel they are the right candidate to host the event.
Yesterday, Zifa chief executive Jonathan Mashingaidze said it was beyond the association’s control and they are already making preparations for the Mighty Warriors’ preliminary round match against Botswana in January.

Zimbabwe have been drawn against their neighbours in the early stage of the qualifiers with the winner of the two legs facing African powerhouse Nigeria in the first and final qualifying round.
“We were prepared for either outcome. Hosting was obviously going to be a bonus for us. The issue of failing to host is beyond us, it is at Caf level and we hope Caf will still consider us for future assignments.

“We were still going to have a number of friendly matches for the team to keep in shape. So we are going on with our preparations and we will be playing South Africa on Unity Day in our annual International Challenge Cup and the match will also serve as a preparatory match for the January qualifiers.

“Banyana Banyana have qualified for the London 2012 Olympics and will give us a good run.
“Then we will engage Malawi next month, shortly before the qualifiers start. Malawi are also an up-and-coming team and should help us as we prepare to face Botswana on the weekend of January 13-15 for the first leg of the African Women Championships,” said Mashingaidze.

The failure by Zimbabwe to host the tournament means the Mighty Warriors will have to be at their best as they try to negotiate their way to the finals. And coach Rosemary Mugadza is aware of the stumbling block posed by defending champions and World Cup finalists, the Super Falcons of Nigeria.

The Mighty Warriors last month featured in the Arab Invitational Cup in Cairo and won a silver medal following their 2-2 draw against hosts Egypt and a 1-0 victory over Tunisia.
Mugadza, not impressed with the way her charges conducted their business, particularly the strike force, is hoping to polish up the grey areas as the team troops into camp on Saturday for the match against South Africa in a fortnight.