THE story of Zimbabwe’s women’s football continues to unfold as a painful cycle of broken promises and shattered dreams. Authorities make pledges to support the players — only to fall short time and again.
It has now emerged that the Zimbabwe Football Association (Zifa) has failed to pay the national Under-17 and Under-20 women’s teams for their participation in last month’s Cosafa and World Cup Qualifier tournaments, respectively.
The players are still owed camping allowances, participation fees, and tournament bonuses.
The Young Mighty Warriors represented Zimbabwe at the Cosafa U17 Girls Championship in South Africa, where they exited in the semi-finals. Meanwhile, the Under-20 team was eliminated from the Fifa World Cup Qualifiers after a 2–1 aggregate loss to Rwanda in Kigali.
Zifa’s failure to honour its obligations — without any official communication — has left players feeling dejected and betrayed.
“It is frustrating that we spend weeks in camp, then go to the tournament, only to return home empty-handed. Some of us have to support our families, while others are schoolchildren hoping to use that money to clear school debts. It’s sad when such things happen. Most people don’t understand what we go through and end up labelling us as disorganised,” said one player, who requested anonymity.
Clubs are equally disillusioned. They argue that Zifa has consistently failed to take women’s football seriously, contributing to the decline of what was once a regional powerhouse. Their frustration goes beyond unpaid allowances — it’s about years of neglect and systemic disregard for the players’ talent and commitment.
“We’re upset. We’ve lost faith in the association, and maybe next time, it’s better for clubs not to release players for national duty,” said one club representative. It’s proving not to be financially beneficial for our players to represent the country. The women’s game has suffered for a long time, and even the new executive hasn’t brought real solutions.”
Zifa CEO Yvonne Manwa promised to comment on the issue.
“I promise I will respond . . . today is close to the election nomination and we have the game in Morocco, so it’s a bit hectic,” she said.
This is not the first time Zimbabwe’s women’s national teams have been neglected. In 2019, Zifa reportedly paid the Mighty Warriors and Under-20 players a mere US$15 upon their return from the Cosafa tournament. This came just a few years after the senior team made its historic Olympic debut in Brazil in 2016 — only to return home without compensation.
To this day, players say they have not been paid for that trip — or several others.
Even their travel arrangements have often raised concern. On multiple occasions, teams have been forced to travel long distances using public transport under uncomfortable conditions.
Yet, when the Nqobile Magwizi-led Zifa executive took office, they pledged to prioritise women’s football and national teams. More than 100 days later, the script remains unchanged.
Speaking last month on The Couch, a programme aired on Zimpapers Television Network (ZTN), Magwizi insisted that change was on the horizon.
“We are working on a framework to ensure that we address that issue adequately. We’ve been working on this for three months now to create a much more robust structure that covers all areas. Women’s football, we believe, can be one of our success stories. So, it’s important that we get it right,” he said.
Magwizi said that Zifa is seeking partnerships with other football associations to improve the women’s game.
“We went to South Africa to see how they’re doing it. Their league is administered by the South African Football Association. They realised that was the best way to support women’s football, and we need to sit down and decide what works best for Zimbabwe.”
Zifa is also consulting local football stakeholders to finalise a sustainable structure for the women’s game. The executive has promised to implement a more streamlined approach within five months.
“There is certainly a problem in the game, and we are working hard to come up with a solution that will impress all of us,” Magwizi said.
But with no tangible improvements to date, the question remains: Will there ever be meaningful change for women’s football in Zimbabwe?
