THE national women’s football team has been invited for a friendly match against Paraguay early next month in preparation for a whirlwind of qualifiers next year.
Report by Henry Mhara Sports Reporter
But before they visit the South Americans, the Mighty Warriors will play Botswana in two weeks for the traditional Unity Cup tournament at Rufaro Stadium.
They will use the match as preparations for important assignments, which include the Africa Cup of Nations, World Cup and Olympic qualifiers next year.
Women’s football boss Mavis Gumbo said the Mighty Warriors, scheduled to play Ethiopia in the annual Unity Cup before the match was cancelled, would play arranged games to keep the women in shape.
“I received an email from Paraguay this morning requesting for an international friendly match early next year. They haven’t given us the exact dates as yet, but they said they want to host us early January,” Gumbo said yesterday.
“I have already told our sponsors Marange Resources and they have shown a great deal of interest in it. We need such games against such big teams to prepare for qualifiers next year. We need to prepare our girls as much as we can. We will try to keep the girls in camp even after the Botswana game,” she said.
The match against Botswana will be played on December 22.
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Zimbabwe beat South Africa 3-0 in last year’s edition.
The Mighty Warriors played Botswana in the African Women’s Championships qualifiers early this year and the Rosemary Mugadza-coached side won the tie with a 3-1 aggregate scoreline.
Meanwhile, the Marange Women’s National Super League season ended yesterday with champions Black Rhinos handed the trophy at Rufaro Stadium. The army side, who clinched the title last Saturday with one game to spare, beat their fellow army side Chipembere Queens at the Mbare stadium yesterday to conclude the season.
“It has been a great and an exciting season for us,” Gumbo said.
“When we started, some of the teams were struggling hence we had 18-0 scorelines, but things improved as we progressed. Credit should also go to the girls, the clubs, the administrators and most importantly our sponsor Marange Resources for making the league a success. It was a learning curve for most of us and we expect greater things next season.”
