Zimbabwe women's national football team

This article is about the women's team. For the men's team, see Zimbabwe national football team.

Zimbabwe

Nickname(s)	Mighty Warriors
Association	Zimbabwe Football Association (ZFA)
Confederation	CAF (Africa)
Sub-confederation	COSAFA (Southern Africa)
Head coach	Sithethelelwe Sibanda
Captain	Nobukhosi Ncube
FIFA code	ZIM
First colours Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current	127 3 (13 December 2024) [1]
Highest	82 (December 2013)
Lowest	128 (August 2022)
First international
Zimbabwe 4–0 Lesotho   (Harare, Zimbabwe; 30 July 2000)
Biggest win
Zimbabwe 15–0 Lesotho   (Harare, Zimbabwe; 19 April 2002)
Biggest defeat
Nigeria 6–0 Zimbabwe   (Johannesburg, South Africa; 21 November 2000)
African Women's Championship
Appearances	4 (first in 1991 )
Best result	4th (2000)
Summer Olympics
Appearances	1 (first in 2016 )
Best result	12th (2016)

The Zimbabwe women's national football team represents Zimbabwe in international football. It is controlled by the Zimbabwe Football Association (ZFA), the governing body for football in Zimbabwe.

The team represented Zimbabwe at the 2016 Summer Olympics, making it the fourth African country to qualify for the tournament, where they were eliminated in the group stage. ^[2]

History

Similar to the men's team, the team is known as the "Mighty Warriors", ^[3] the Zimbabwe women's national team was established in 1991, making it one of the earliest women's national teams on the African continent. They were scheduled to compete in the inaugural African Women's Championship in 1991 but withdrew before the tournament. Their first official match was a 5–2 victory over South Africa in a friendly at FNB Stadium, serving as a curtain-raiser for the men's match between Bafana and Holland. ^[4]

The team played its first African Women's Championship qualifiers in 2000 against Lesotho, winning 8–0 on aggregate over two legs to qualify for their first continental competition. In Group A, the team drew with Uganda, defeated Réunion 2–1, and lost to South Africa 3–0, advancing to their first-ever semifinals. After losing the next two knockout matches, the team finished fourth. ^[5]

In 2002, the country hosted the inaugural regional COSAFA Women's Championship. During their first campaign, they topped Group A, recording their biggest win, a 15–0 victory over Lesotho. Another dominant performance, an 11–1 win against Mozambique, saw Zimbabwe reach their first final. ^[6]

Sixteen years after their first match, Zimbabwe won their first regional title and trophy at the 2011 COSAFA Women's Championship on home soil, defeating three-time defending champions South Africa 1–0 in the final. ^[7]

After failing to qualify for the Olympics on two occasions, the Mighty Warriors secured their ticket to the 2016 Summer Olympics through the 2015 CAF Women's Olympic qualifying tournament. They defeated rivals Zambia, received a walkover against Ivory Coast, and then triumphed over Cameroon with a 2–2 aggregate score, advancing on away goals. It became the first team, either men's or women's from the country to qualify for the Olympics. ^[8] In their first tournament, they were defeated in all their matches against Australia, Canada, and Germany, but they were able to score in each of the three games. ^[9]

Coaching staff

Current coaching staff

Position	Name	Ref.
Head coach	Sithethelelwe Sibanda

Manager history

• Sithethelelwe Sibanda(20??-present)

Results and fixtures

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

Legend

  Win  Draw  Loss  Fixture

2024

Mozambique   v   Zimbabwe

24 October 2024 (2024-10-24) 2024 COSAFA WC GS	Mozambique	1–0	Zimbabwe	Ibhayi, South Africa
17:00  UTC+2	Aurora 18'	Report		Stadium: Isaac Wolfson Stadium Referee: Vistoria Nuusiku Shangula (Namibia)

Zimbabwe   v   Lesotho

27 October 2024 (2024-10-27) 2024 COSAFA WC GS	Zimbabwe	3–0	Lesotho	Gqeberha, South Africa
15:00  UTC+2	Chinyerere 60', 90+2' Katona 69'	Report		Stadium: Madibaz Stadium Referee: Vistoria Nuusiku Shangula (Namibia)

2025

Angola   v   Zimbabwe

20 February 2025 (2025-02-20) 2026 WAFCON qualifying	Angola	2–1	Zimbabwe	Luanda, Angola
16:00  UTC+1	Ary Papel 1', 73'	Report	Mucherera 17'	Stadium: Estádio Joaquim Dinis

Zimbabwe   v   Angola

26 February 2025 (2025-02-26) 2026 WAFCON qualifying	Zimbabwe	2–1 (3–3 agg.) (4–5 p)	Angola	Pretoria, South Africa
15:00  UTC+2	Chinyerere 35' Katona 44'	Report	Ary Papel 78'	Stadium: Lucas Moripe Stadium Referee: Aline A Etong (Cameroon)
	Penalties
	Ncube Chirandu Kaitano Kanyai Magwede		Cristina Margareth Ketcha Docarsia Ngonguinha
Note: 3–3 on aggregate. Angola won 5–4 on penalties.

Players

See also: Category:Zimbabwe women's international footballers

Current squad

The following is the Provisional called up for the 2026 WAFCON qualifying First round named on 29 Janvier 2025. ^[10]

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Club
1	1 GK	Precious Mudyiwa	(1998-02-02)2 February 1998 (aged 26)	Black Rhinos Queens
16	1 GK	Vanessa Lunga	(1994-06-16)16 June 1994 (aged 30)	Chapungu Queens
	1 GK	Lindiwe Magwede
	1 GK	Sasha Machona
5	2 DF	Shiela Antonio	(1999-08-27)27 August 1999 (aged 25)	Chapungu Queens
4	2 DF	Egness Tumbare	(1993-07-31)31 July 1993 (aged 31)	Herentals Queens
9	2 DF	Nobukhosi Ncube (Captain)	(1993-02-17)17 February 1993 (aged 31)	Chapungu Queens
21	2 DF	Alice Moyo	(1993-03-26)26 March 1993 (aged 31)	Herentals Queens
2	2 DF	Purity Mugayi	(1998-12-15)15 December 1998 (aged 25)	Black Rhinos Queens
2	2 DF	Nokukhanya Ndlovu
2	2 DF	Fortunate Ngocho
11	3 MF	Daisy Kaitano	(1995-07-04)4 July 1995 (aged 29)	Black Rhinos Queens
2	3 MF	Emmaculate Msipa
19	3 MF	Shyline Dambamuromo	(2000-04-04)4 April 2000 (aged 24)	Herentals Queens
2	3 MF	Danai Bhobho
2	3 MF	Mavis Chirandu
13	4 FW	Christabel Katona	(1999-02-13)13 February 1999 (aged 25)	Black Rhinos Queens
10	3 MF	Ennety Chemhere	(2002-10-19)19 October 2002 (aged 22)	Platinum Royals
8	3 MF	Morelife Nyagumbo	(2005-02-09)9 February 2005 (aged 19)	Faith Drive Academy
12	3 MF	Nadia Semba	(2006-03-18)18 March 2006 (aged 18)	Correctional Queens
20	3 MF	Natasha Ndowa	(1998-01-03)3 January 1998 (aged 26)	Chapungu Queens
23	3 MF	Patience Ndlovu	(2006-02-10)10 February 2006 (aged 18)	Highlanders Royals
14	4 FW	Ethel Chinyerere	(1996-06-12)12 June 1996 (aged 28)	Chapungu Queens
2	4 FW	Rutendo Makore
2	4 FW	Yolanda Kanyai
2	4 FW	Ruvimbo Mucherera
18	4 FW	Maudy Mafuruse	(1999-04-24)24 April 1999 (aged 25)	Herentals Queens
6	4 FW	Mitchell John	(2005-09-14)14 September 2005 (aged 19)	Harare City Queens
2	4 FW	Anita Nube

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up to a Mozambique squad in the past 12 months.

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
GK	Cynthia Shonga	(2000-06-18) 18 June 2000 (age 24)	-	-	Richmond United	v.   Lesotho ,27 October 2024
MF	Edline Mutumbami	(1996-10-13) 13 October 1996 (age 28)	-	-	Chapungu Queens	v.   Lesotho ,27 October 2024
MF	Tanyaradzwa Chihoro	(2004-12-01) 1 December 2004 (age 20)	-	-	Maningi Soccer Academy	v.   Lesotho ,27 October 2024
MF	Peacemore Kenende	(1997-03-03) 3 March 1997 (age 27)	-	-	Richmond United	v.   Lesotho ,27 October 2024
FW	Priviledge Mupeti	(1997-09-29) 29 September 1997 (age 27)	-	-	Black Rhinos Queens	v.   Lesotho ,27 October 2024

Previous squads

Olympic Games

• 2016 Summer Olympics squad

Africa Women Cup of Nations

• 2000 African Women's Championship squad
• 2016 Africa Women Cup of Nations squad

COSAFA Women's Championship

• 2020 COSAFA Women's Championship squad
• 2021 COSAFA Women's Championship squad
• 2023 COSAFA Women's Championship squad
• 2024 COSAFA Women's Championship squad

Competitive record

FIFA Women's World Cup

FIFA Women's World Cup record											Qualification record
Host nation(s) and year	Round	Pos	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Squad		Outcome	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1991	Withdrew										Withdrew
1995	Did not enter										Did not enter
1999
2003	Did not qualify										The 2002 African Women's Championship served as the qualifying tournament
2007	Withdrew										Withdrew
2011	Did not enter										Did not enter
2015	Did not qualify										The 2014 African Women's Championship served as the qualifying tournament
2019	Did not qualify										The 2018 Women's Africa Cup of Nations served as the qualifying tournament
2023	Did not qualify										The 2022 Women's Africa Cup of Nations served as the qualifying tournament
2027	To be determined										The 2026 Women's Africa Cup of Nations will serve as the qualifying tournament
Total	–	0/10	–	–	–	–	–	–	–		Total	–	–	–	–	–	–

Summer Olympics

Summer Olympics record											Qualification record
Host nation(s) and year	Round	Pos	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Squad		Outcome	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1996	Did not enter										The 1995 FIFA Women's World Cup served as the qualifying tournament
2000											The 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup served as the qualifying tournament
2004	Did not qualify										Second round	2	0	1	1	0	1
2008												3	1	0	2	9	6
2012	Did not enter										Did not enter
2016	Group stage	12th	3	0	0	3	3	15	squad		Fourth round	6	4	0	2	10	4
2020	Withdrew										Second round	1	0	0	1	0	5
2024	Suspended										Suspended
2028	To be determined										To be determined
Total	–	1/8	3	0	0	3	3	15	–		Total	12	5	1	6	19	16

Women's Africa Cup of Nations

Women's Africa Cup of Nations record											Qualification record
Host nation(s) and year	Round	Pos	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Squad		Outcome	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1991	Withdrew										No qualifying tournament
1995	Did not enter
1998											Did not enter
2000	Fourth place	4th	5	1	1	3	8	17	squad		Main round	2	2	0	0	4	0
2002	Group stage	6th	3	0	2	1	2	4	squad		Main round	2	2	0	0	10	0
2004	Group stage	5th	3	1	1	1	3	4	squad		Main round	2	2	0	0	7	0
2006	Withdrew										Withdrew
2008	Did not qualify										Second round	4	2	0	2	7	9
2010	Did not enter										Did not enter
2012	Did not qualify										First round	4	2	0	2	3	7
2014											Second round	4	2	0	2	3	3
2016	Group stage	7th	3	0	1	2	0	3	squad		Main round	4	3	1	0	7	4
2018	Did not qualify										Second round	4	3	0	1	6	2
2022											Second round	4	3	0	1	9	4
2024	Did not enter										Did not enter
2026	To be determined										To be determined
Total	–	4/16	14	2	5	7	13	28	–		Total	30	21	1	8	56	29

See also

• Sports portal
• Games portal
• Association football portal
• Women's association football portal

• List of women's national association football teams
• Women's football in Zimbabwe

References

1. "The FIFA/Coca-Cola Women's World Ranking". FIFA. 13 December 2024. Retrieved 13 December 2024.
2. "Zimbabwe's Women's Football Team Makes History Going Into Rio 2016 Olympics". okayafrica.com. Pablo Medina Uribe. August 3, 2016. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
3. "Ruthless Copper Queens thrash Mighty Warriors". zambianfootball.co.zm. August 29, 2019. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
4. "Where are our queens?". herald.co.zw. October 28, 2011. Retrieved December 27, 2024.
5. "Zimbabwe's journalist-footballer ready for Rio". inside.fifa.com. FIFA . Retrieved 27 December 2024.
6. "History of the HOLLYWOODBETS COSAFA Women's Championship". cosafa.com. October 6, 2024. Retrieved December 27, 2024.
7. "Zimbabwe Mighty Warriors lift COSAFA cup". nehandaradio.com. July 9, 2011. Retrieved December 27, 2024.
8. "The unlikely Olympic journey of Zimbabwe's Mighty Warriors". espn.com. August 1, 2016. Retrieved December 27, 2024.
9. "No riches, but respect for Zimbabwe women's football team at Rio 2016 Olympics". indianexpress.com. August 9, 2016. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
10. "Mighty Warriors CAF Women's Africa Cup of Nations 2026 Qualifiers Provisional Squad". Zimbabwe Football Association. 29 January 2025. Retrieved 29 January 2025– via facebook.

External links

• Zimbabwe women's national football team – official website at ZIFA (in English)