Zim women’s football in crisis

The Mighty Warriors elimination from the ongoing Cosafa tournament is just a tip of the iceberg in a deep-rooted crisis stunting the growth of women’s football in Zimbabwe.

For a nation that qualified for the 2016 Rio Olympics and was so dominant in the region, failing to go beyond the group phase of the Cosafa tournament should serve as an alarm bell to a crisis that has befallen the women’s game.

Since the ousting of Mavis Gumbo as the Zimbabwe Women’s Football leader, the women’s game which looked so promising appears to have suffered an about turn in the wrong direction. For a nation which use to embark on tours of Uruguay and Germany, the prevailing environment leaves a lot to be desired.

A weak development structure coupled with clear divisions within the game are critical areas which need to be addressed in order for the revival of the women’s game.  Since the elevation of Barbra Chikosi as the Zimbabwe Women’s football chairperson no meaningful strides appear to have been made with a shameful player boycott in an Olympic qualifier against Zambia summing up the state of the women’s game. 

The failure to progress beyond a competition in which Zimbabwe has been so dominant in the past points to the women’s game heading in the wrong direction and if authorities take no action retrogression may well be the order of the day for the women’s game. Pleas for the proper channeling of FIFA funds meant for women’s development have been made for year’s yet the reality on the ground points to such funds not reaching their intended destination.

If the women’s game is to awake from its slumber there is the dire need for authorities to act as a matter of urgency. While it maybe agreed the current tournament came at a time players have been inactive, one may argue other nations have been also deprived competition owing to the covid-19 pandemic.