Geophrey Sifani Sports Reporter
THE Zimbabwe national women’s football team, the Mighty Warriors, goes into camp at Elangeni Training Centre in Bulawayo today ahead of their friendly match against South Africa’s Banyana Banyana on January 27.
The friendly will kick start the Mighty Warriors’ preparations for the Olympic Games that will be held in the huge Brazilian seaside city of Rio de Janeiro in August this year.
This will be the first of what officials say will be intensive camps lined up for the girls before they take part in the Africa Women Cup of Nations’ qualifiers in March.
Mighty Warriors’ head coach Shadreck Mlauzi said the camp marked the beginning of their grand planning for their historic Olympics’ appearance.
He said the girls would undergo scientific tests for physical weight and body measures.
“We’re going to get busy right away. We’re preparing for two major events and there is a need for the team to be in shape and be ready. We’re going to start with fitness sessions as it has been long since the girls played any competitive match, and coming from the holidays, their fitness levels have obviously dropped,” said Mlauzi.
“We hope morale will be high in camp as our deliberations with the Zifa board were promising. Our expectations are that the wish list we presented to them will be adhered to.”
He said they were excited at facing Banyana Banyana in a friendly as this will present the girls with a chance to test themselves against one of the continent’s best teams before they go and face the world’s best in Brazil.
“South African girls are very strong and this will be a great battle. We’re the two African countries that will represent the continent (at the Olympic Games). They’ll want to exert their dominance, but we’ll give them a good run for their money,” Mlauzi said.
The 12th edition of the Africa Women Cup of Nations will be held in Cameroon from November 19 to December 3, 2016.
The Mighty Warriors will play their first qualifier against Tanzania in March and a win will see them facing either Zambia or Namibia.