Don’t forget Mavis Gumbo, her works!

25 Oct, 2015 - 00:10 0 Views
Don’t forget Mavis Gumbo, her works!

The Sunday Mail

Sports Editor
AS the Mighty Warriors rightly get feted after a historic Olympic Games qualification, the woman who masterminded their explosion into a football force is smiling ear to ear away from the public limelight.
Mavis Gumbo is one happy woman.
However, getting her to talk about the Mighty Warriors was no easy task with her argument being: “I did the little I did and had my time in the press. Let those who are running the game get the attention. I am just an ordinary supporter now.”However, to ignore the pivotal role Gumbo played in breathing life into the Mighty Warriors between 2010 and 2014 – when she was the Zimbabwe Women’s Football boss – would be diabolic.
She came in at a time when the Mighty Warriors were treated like children born out of wedlock by Zifa.
She vowed to change the sad scenario and walked the talk.
Gumbo knocked on the highest office in the land and successfully asked President Mugabe to be the Chief Patron of Zimbabwe Women Football.A picture of President Mugabe donning the ZWF blazer hangs proudly in Gumbo’s office.
“This was on 22 December, 2010 at Rufaro. It’s one of the major highlights of my reign,” she says of it.
During her tenure, corporates such as Marange Diamonds and Net One came on board while the Mighty Warriors travelled for training camps in Germany and Uruguay.
Assistant coaches Langton Giwa and Sithethelelwe Sibanda attended a UEFA B coaching course in Germany as Gumbo sought to capacitate the team. The Mighty Warriors players called her mother and some of them still yearn for the return of the woman who lost the 2014 ZWF elections by two votes to Miriam Sibanda.
“Mai Gumbo was the first to make us believe that we can play against any team in the world. You know before we went for those camps in Germany and Uruguay, we lacked self-belief and would lose to teams like South Africa and Zambia before even playing them, their big name players just scared us.
“However, those camps changed everything and today we can step up to teams like Cameroon, who have several French based players, without thinking twice,” said a senior player last week.lt is against such a background that the Mavis Gumbo angle is a must in any script that celebrates the Mighty Warriors.“To be honest if I say l am excited it would be an understatement,” said Gumbo when she finally agreed to an interview.
“I am over the moon because this is exactly what I have always wished for the girls since the day I took office in March 2010 and left in March 2014 after losing the election to Miriam Sibanda.
“However, it’s never about individuals. Whatever Mavis Gumbo did she did it for the nation of Zimbabwe. I played my small part and am happy with the results those little things I did are said to be bringing to the team and women’s football at large.
”With Zifa elections coming up on December 5, Gumbo’s name is once again being thrown around but the experienced administrator says it’s not her call to make.
“The councilors are the ones who decide. I cannot say yes or no, l will just wait and see what happens. If the councilors approach me I will think about it because football is in my blood,” she said.

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