Story by Mthokozisi Dube
BULAWAYO-based Mpopoma Sports Academy says it has drawn valuable lessons on elite football development after competing against leading academies from Southern Africa at the COSAFA CAF girls tournament, where it finished third.
The academy returned home with a bronze medal after winning all but one of its matches, the sole defeat coming against South African giants Mamelodi Sundowns. Officials say the experience has strengthened their resolve to raise standards in women’s football development.
Mpopoma Sports Academy co-director James Junior Rugwevera described the tournament as a significant milestone for both the institution and Zimbabwean women’s football, noting that competing against well-structured academies provided critical benchmarks.
“First of all, as MPOSA, we are very proud to have represented Zimbabwe at the prestigious tournament finishing third and coming all the way with a bronze medal is a significant achievement for us as an academy and for Zimbabwe women’s football. From the performance point of view, we are encouraged by the fact that we won all our matches except one against Mamelodi Sundowns and that result showed us that our girls can compete at the highest level.”
Rugwevera said exposure to academies such as Malawi’s Luwinga, which operates within an elite and highly organised environment, highlighted the importance of holistic player development and tactical maturity.
“ It also highlighted areas where we must grow so that we can match other academies in terms of lessons learnt. This tournament was extremely valuable and one of the lessons came from observing academies like Luwinga, which operates like a national project. Their players were exposed to an elite environment and that reflects on their tactical ability,” he said.
Head coach Evans Neta said the tournament served as a learning curve for players and the technical team, offering rare exposure and visibility at a high level of competition.
He added that the lessons gained would inform preparations for future tournaments.
“From a technical point of view, we learnt a lot and we hope we can carry the lessons to better improve in future editions and the girls got the much-needed exposure and visibility. Otherwise, we are grateful to be selected to represent the country at such a big tournament,” coach Neta said.
The integrated COSAFA CAF girls tournament was introduced by the Confederation of African Football to accelerate the growth and competitiveness of women’s football across the continent.
