Trust Rukwava
Centre News Sports Hub
Apostolic Faith Mission in Zimbabwe (AFM) run boarding school Rufaro High School has defied all odds after their girls’ soccer team secured promotion into the elite Women’s Premier Soccer League.
The promotion means girls from the heart of rural Gutu district in Masvingo Province who ply their trade for the club will gain exposure in PSL which may eventually lead to some being selected to play for the Mighty Warriors or other big African and European clubs as the PSL serves as a hunting ground for scouts.
Centre News Sports Hub Reporter Trust Rukwava (TR) caught up with Rufaro High Sports Director Norwell Zvavamwe (NZ) following a ZIFA delegation visit to the school.
Below are excerpts of the interview.
TR: Can you tell us the purpose and the major highlights of the ZIFA visit at your institution?
NZ: The major reason why the Zifa entourage came to Rufaro High School (AFM in Zimbabwe) was to officially disclose the news that Rufaro Starlets Academy Queens are the champions of the Zifa Eastern Region and proceed to give us the trophy and medals as part of the official ceremony proceedings.
TR: How was the qualification journey like how did you pull through and what was the secret to success?
NZ: The journeys we travelled were too long and the terrain was highly uneven we went as far as Chimanimani and most of the teams are in Manicaland. We managed to play all our away games and out of the games we only drew two games and conceded only 2 goals and scored around 67 goals. We at times woke up as early as 2 am to travel to venues for most of games ‘ kick off time was 11:00 am and travel back it was so hectic indeed but the grace of God took us this far.
TR: How is the team composed is it made up of students only or it involves other players from the community?
NZ: Our team is exclusively made up of our students from form one up to six.
TR: Given that the girls will be playing at the higher stage how will they balance sports and academics as they train every day and travel to fulfill fixtures weekly?
NZ: Sportspersons are intelligent people our first principle is balance all books and then we encourage the players to excel in sports and in academics and the players have heeded to that and are doing very well. We also work well with the teachers to assist them in the event of having missed lessons so that they cope with others leaving no one behind and this has tremendously helped our players. We have among them best students who won awards recently on our prize giving ceremony in November this year.
TR: Considering that the girls team has made history how are you moulding the boys team towards success how is the team performing at the moment?
NZ: Yes we are also considering taking boys on board as has been encouraged by our stakeholders but at times resources may be so meagre but the idea is noble we will sit down and deliberate on that.
TR: What challenges did you face in the administration of the team?
NZ: We faced a myriad of challenges as a new vision which included player welfare our players did not eat what they wanted but ate what was available. As you know athletes have their diet , we also had transport challenges and ended up carrying only 18 players leaving others, we had issues of training kits and playing kits but despite all these challenges God took us this far.
TR: Women soccer teams in Masvingo Province have found the going getting tough over the years but your girls have defied the odds. How did you achieve this feat despite the lack of support towards women soccer in the Province?
NZ: Yes women football is looked down upon in Zimbabwe very few people take their time to watch their games yet it’s one of the most interesting games, smart and nonviolent where a high level of sportsmanship is demonstrated. We had to defy all odds and used little available resources to do the best as I have alluded to above.
TR: Do you have any intention to beef up your squad to meet competition in PSL and which players are your major targets?
NZ: Yes our team is comprised of youngsters in the range of between 13 to 18 years, there is need to go to the drawing board so that we have a blended team in order to match the level of competition in the top flight Premier League.
TR: What message do you have for the Masvingo community and others who might want to partner with you ahead of the team’s journey in the PSL?
NZ: To our Masvingo community we are kindly inviting you to come partner with us financially, with kits training equipment and grounds improvement and even coming to watch us play the game. Here is Masvingo community’s chance to watch ZWPSL matches at their door steps together we can make women soccer a marvel and promote the girl child.
