Minister Hlongwane
Ellina Mhlanga Harare Bureau
FOLLOWING the Mighty Warriors’ successful campaign in the African Women Cup of Nations that saw them qualifying for the finals in Cameroon, the senior national women’s soccer side is set to get 30 residential stands for their efforts from the government.
The announcement was made by Sport and Recreation Minister, Makhosini Hlongwane, on Monday at a dinner held in Harare for the team after their arrival from Zambia
“From our side as government we’ve decided that in the absence of cash which is difficult to get given the constraints within our fiscal space, we’re going to go kind,” said Hlongwane.
“And I can announce now that we’ve put together here in Harare today (Monday) 30 residential stands for the Mighty Warriors.
“And (Philip) Chiyangwa is going to take over from me. I’ve already told him the details, he’s aware of what’s supposed to be done so that during the course of this week each one of you (Mighty Warriors team members) is shown their stand.
“That’s the government’s appreciation of what the girls have done,” said Hlongwane.
The senior national women’s side have proved to be one of the most successful teams in the country with their outstanding achievements over the past few months.
They became the first football team from this country to qualify for the Olympic Games last year in October when they beat Cameroon.
They then pulled through to the finals of the Africa Women Cup of Nations over the weekend when they beat Zambia 4-2 on aggregate in the final qualifying round.
The finals will be staged in Cameroon from November 19 to December 3.
Hlongwane said there is a need to change the attitude towards women in sport and start appreciating their success stories and contribution to the nation.
“Zimbabwe has yearned for success on the sporting field for far too long and these girls have provided the answers that continue to elude us.
“And unfortunately because our society is arrested by the demons of patriarch we don’t see as a movement the necessity of going to the stadium when our girls are playing.
“Notwithstanding the fact that they’re the ones who bring success on the table and that’s very unfortunate.
“The corporate sector doesn’t easily come on board because they don’t see the numbers in the stadiums when these girls are playing. Notwithstanding that our girls have shown a durability that’s outstanding.
“They’ve shown a resilience that can be compared to none and as we speak right now they’re the champions of the sport movement in our country. And as a country we haven’t been fair to these young girls, all of us as a collective.
“They’ve continued to vindicate why they’re on the field of play every time with an indisputable performance that delivers success.
“And that should help us change our attitude and should help us migrate away from a fixation that because they’re women they aren’t capable. As it turns out, that actually isn’t correct, women can do better than man,” Hlongwane said.
Zifa president, Chiyangwa, said the stands will be allocated to the players before the end of this week.
“I made a request and the government responded and I think there’ll be an announcement on the Warriors. But we’ve heard an announcement that the Mighty Warriors will be given their stands this week.
“The Mighty Warriors lived up to their name and made sure that we would be in Rio in August and then to Yaoundé in November. That’s the stuff any association would care for.
“As the custodians of local football we commit ourselves to resource our Mighty Warriors ahead of these important tournaments,” said Chiyangwa.
The Zifa president said they are going to reward the team for qualifying for the African Cup of Nations and also pay what they owe the players although he could not reveal the figures.
“I’ll be honest that up to now I don’t know the amounts that are still outstanding. But I’m into Zifa to make sure that problems are sorted out. Certainly if there’s anything outstanding particularly with this victory I’ll be able to deal with it as soon as possible.
“We’ll make the announcement. All I wanted was to make sure that we don’t announce things without looking at whether the money that’s coming from Caf and Fifa is in the account.
“As soon as that money is in the account I’ll cut something out and give them,” said Chiyangwa.
The function was also attended by Member of Parliament for Pumula Constituency Godfrey Malaba, Zimbabwe Olympic Committee chief executive Anna Mguni, and director of sport in the Sport and Recreation Ministry Eugenia Chidhakwa.
Zimbabwe football legend, Moses Chunga, a former captain of the Warriors, also graced the occasion.