Shingai Dhlamini, Sports Reporter
FOUNDING Zimbabwe Saints Queens administrator, Elizabeth Langa is happy with her contribution to football, a sport which she took off from the ground in the late 1980s.
Born Elizabeth Hunidzarira, in a family of seven, two girls and five boys, on 7 November 1952, she was there when Ndumiso Gumede returned from a visit to Germany in 1987 to encourage women’s participation in football.
Among Highlanders Royals’ Dorothy Mpofu and Sibekiwe Khumalo as well as Maureen Tsvara, they founded women’s soccer in the city when already Dynamos Queens with the likes of Yesmore Mutero and Annie Lonje were in existence.
The former Zimbabwe Saints Queens secretary and chairperson grew up in Mzilikazi, one of the oldest suburbs in Bulawayo and is an elder sister to Zimbabwe Saints legend and now Zifa technical director, Jethro Chemmy Hunidzarira.
Her son Eugene played for AmaZulu, Highlanders and Zimbabwe Saints.
As fate or luck would have it, she got married to football fanatic Mike Langa, a staunch Zimbabwe Saints supporter.
At the time of her marriage to Langa in 1975, Zimbabwe Saints commanded a big following in the country and enjoyed every moment with the rebuilding side up to the 1987-1989 glory years.
Growing up, Langa like most children, enjoyed sports and actively participated when she was at primary and secondary school. There was a strong Youth Club culture that provided sporting amenities and kept both boys and girls away from vice.
She enjoyed playing netball and most people marvelled at her skills, as she was a left-handed shooter.
She recalls that there was a group of women who supported Zimbabwe Saints, a majority of them married. They formed a group for women’s supporters.
They held fundraising activities and bought players T-shirts with the team’s logo and organised end-of-season parties for Chikwata.
Such events brought the players, management, members and supporters together.
Langa said towards the end of the first decade after Independence, they were urged by leaders like the late Gumede and Vincent Pamire to form women’s teams and remembers curtain raising in some of the Independence Day celebrations in the early 1990s.
“That is when it all started, teams were formed, talent was scouted in schools and we were assisted by our male counterparts with training and sharing of football knowledge,” she said.
Harare had Dynamos and Mufakose Queens joined in later.
Provincial and national women’s football associations were formed.
“Men played a big part in our growth and influence for us to play proper football. Both teams, Saints and Highlanders would travel to Harare to play games that attracted sponsors. As teams were formed in the provinces, so did football become more competitive,” she said.
Langa said that as the years went by, the sport grew and the quality of football improved, leaving her happy with the baby she gave birth to – women’s soccer.
“My best moments were when we had a national team and girls were playing competitive football and we were the best in the Southern African Region,” said Langa, who worked tirelessly with Susan Chibizhe, Vernom Boas and Haverson Masilela to brand women’s soccer and the Mighty Warriors.
Having been part of the football family for close to 40 years, women’s football still does not get the recognition it deserves from the mother body and corporate sector.
Women’s involvement in sports is growing and levels of proficiency vary sport by sport and country by country.
“Even if the women’s team wins in international competition, they still are not given the same recognition as the men and they have little to show for the success,” she said.
Langa said at the beginning they worked hard to get funding for the Royals and Queens’ existence. They even embarked on door-to-door campaigns asking for financial help for women’s soccer.
“I’m honoured to have worked with women who showed determination and never gave up on their passion for football, my prayer is that Rosemary Mugadza’s wish for women in sports to be treated with the same respect as the men will be successful,” said Langa.
She called for women to support each other in sport.
“Club owners do not get financial support from Zifa or Fifa, so it is up to us to make sure that the girls get what they deserve, if we support them their performances will attract sponsors.
“Most countries have Premier League teams, which are well sponsored, in Zimbabwe, it is difficult, I plead with women in the corporate world to assist the Girl Child rise and support her dreams of becoming professional football players,” said Langa.
She said that she is pleased that some women have taken up administrative, managerial positions, coaching and refereeing including men’s teams.
Chido Chizondo, Thandiwe Moyo, Yvonne Manwa, Rosemary Mugadza, Samukeliso Silengane, Henrietta Rushwaya are among women who have held or continue to hold positions in the male-dominated field.