The Sunday Mail
Tariro Charandura
MIGHTY WARRIORS coach Sithethelelwe “Kwinji 15” Sibanda has revealed that she was out to strike a balance between rejuvenating the team and keeping experienced legs when she selected her Cosafa Cup training squad.
The 2017 Cosafa Women’s Championship runs from September 13-24.
The 35-year-old soccer coach was appointed to the top post in March to replace the record-breaking Shadreck Mlauzi, and next month’s competition in Bulawayo will be her first assignment.
Mlauzi became the first coach to lead a Zimbabwe senior soccer team to a global showcase when the Mighty Warriors qualified for the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.
Sibanda was the mainstay of the team during her playing days, bossing the midfield with the famous number 15 on her back.
She appreciates that her new role comes with unique challenges.
“At the end of the day the coach has to deliver,” said Sibanda. “What I did as a player really doesn’t matter now; the nation will judge me based on how the team will perform under my watch and I am ready for that challenge.
“For the Cosafa Cup we have a team that is a mixture of both youth and experience. Camp starts at the Zifa Village on Monday (tomorrow) and we will hit the ground running.
“My hope is that the experienced players will help the debutantes to settle in quickly because team bonding is always key ahead of such important assignments.”
The Mighty Warriors won their first and only Cosafa title when Zimbabwe hosted the competition in 2011 and Sibanda knows that her Class of 2017 will be under pressure to emulate that feat.
“Being the hosts comes with its advantages and disadvantages,” she said. “The plus is that you have the home fans behind you and the negative is that the girls will be under pressure to perform because they are playing at home.
“This is the situation we find ourselves in ahead of next month’s competition but that is the nature of football and I believe we have the arsenal needed to go all the way.”
