THE Zimbabwe Football Association (Zifa) board has taken swift action to address concerns over the welfare of the Mighty Warriors, unveiling camping allowances and other measures to support the team.
Zifa president Nqobile Magwizi, accompanied by a delegation of women representatives on the board, met with the players and technical department during their first training session at Prince Edward School in Harare.
The team is in camp for the upcoming Women’s Africa Cup of Nations Qualifiers against Angola.
The first leg is set for Angola on February 20, with the return leg scheduled for Pretoria in South Africa, six days later.
“The hopes of the nation are on your shoulders and as you stand there, you are representing every person regardless of their location, colour or creed,” Magwizi said.
“As you prepare for these games, just know that you are carrying the hopes of the whole nation. I just want to commend the commitment that you are showing to represent your country.
“I’m very proud of you girls, proud of what you have done, what you are doing and what you are going to do in the future.”
Zifa chief executive Yvonne Manwa revealed that the association has lined up a number of incentives to motivate the team, including camping allowances.
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Zifa vice-president Loveness Wadzanai Mukura elaborated on the welfare initiative.
“We have managed to ensure that whatever we have put together is enough to motivate them going forward,” she said.
“It’s not going to be the same old tale that the female players will go for camping without allowances and subjected to below-standard winning bonuses.”
Zifa board member Kudzai Kadzombe congratulated the players on their achievement and encouraged them to shine on the international stage.
“I want to start off by congratulating every one of you. You have done an amazing thing. The pride of Zimbabwe is on your shoulders. I know that it is a tall order because you are holding the hopes, the aspirations of all the girl child in Zimbabwe, Africa and beyond,” Kadzombe said.
“And this opportunity that you have achieved and worked hard for is a platform where you can shine as an individual and make sure that the bigger teams out there can be able to spot your talent.
“So as you are doing this for the nation, also do it for yourself as a Mighty Warrior because no one can take away the pride and hardwork that you have put in over the years.”
Alice Zeure, another board member, said their visit was meant to inspire the girls to fight for their badge with pride.
“It’s really an important occasion for us. The reason why we are here is that we want to give them confidence. We want to advise them and assure them that the sky is the limit.
“We want to support them and give them confidence and check also on compliance issues at personal level check also every player has got adequate travelling documents are in order,” Zeure said.
“We want to check on whether they are facing any problems be it personal, family or marital that can slow or hamper their performance to the fullest.
“We want to give them motherly support, we want to appear to them as their friends. We want to understand them better this is the reason why we are here to make sure that they perform better at the WAFCON.”
