Last week, the media was officially invited by Zifa to cover the Mighty Warriors’ training session, as well as a visit by Sports deputy minister Emily Jesaya at the Zesa Training Centre, where the team is camped before leaving for South Africa.
From my observation, the squad made up of locally based players only, still needs more time, not just a few days, to properly gel and prepare for the upcoming Cosafa Women’s Championship.
Defensive lapses and recurring mistakes were noticeable during training.
This is not because the players lack quality or talent, no, but rather a consequence of inactivity.
A lapse in concentration and a poor touch can creep into a player’s game after a long spell without competitive football.
The players only entered camp last week while in the off-season and that inactivity could catch up with them at the regional tournament scheduled for February 18 to March 1 in Polokwane.
It is widely accepted that a six-week period is the ideal duration for players to prepare for competition after the off-season.
Typically, such a program helps build base conditioning and progress to match-specific intensity.
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More consistent activity and regular game time to keep players match-fit are direly needed for locally based Zimbabwean women footballers.
With the current squad composed entirely of local players, it may be difficult for the team to compete strongly at the highest level for now.
Most of them were called up while still in preseason, having last played competitive matches in November last year.
Under such circumstances, a mini-tournament before the competition would have been ideal for assessment and selection, allowing the team to begin structured preparations.
However, that would depend on securing sponsorship, as such initiatives can be costly.
As things stand, much still needs to be done to improve women’s football in Zimbabwe.
Zifa and the Zimbabwe Women’s Premier Soccer League leadership must go the extra mile to find solutions to revive and strengthen the game.
