She Zebras up against Namibia�s Gladiators
Kabelo Boranabi | Wednesday September 13, 2017 15:19
The team nicknamed, She Zebras has failed to secure a win at the regional tournament after nine attempts as they featured in the inaugural tournament in 2002, and then again in 2008 and 2011.
The team would face the first hurdle in the form of the Brave Gladiators of Namibia in the opener of the tournament. This would be the Zebras’ first international fixture in more than one and a half years. The team is beaming with confidence ahead of their fixture as captain, Bonang Otlhagile said they would be up for a fight in Bulawayo.
She Zebras coach, Gaolethoo Nkutlwisang travelled with a relatively young squad that has experience in international games to cause upset in Zimbabwe. The local girls got the feel of the stadium yesterday morning where they held their first training session ahead of the tricky fixture. Unlike Botswana, the Gladiators have over the years proven hugely competitive in the COSAFA tournament. The western neighbours are ranked 107th in the world, while the Zebras are on 122. Namibia has been on the rise over the years as they reached the African Women’s Championships in 2014, which is their greatest achievement thus far. The team won one and lost two of their group stages’ matches as they were knocked out in the first round. Namibia coach, Brian Isaacs said his side will bank on the experience they got at the continental tournament. He, however, said he is aware of the threat posed by Botswana and Lesotho, who have been given the underdog tag in Group C.
“I’m positive the ladies will do us proud in Zimbabwe. We have done all we could in terms of preparations and they have what it takes to reach the next round.
“Facing Botswana, Lesotho and South Africa will be challenges we need to overcome as a team and the ladies know they need to believe in their own abilities for us to achieve this.”
“Most of the ladies in the team featured at the continental showpiece [African Women’s Championship] in 2014 and have since played in some qualifiers and that exposure and experience can only do us good. The team has been part of regular visits of Germany over the years and that can also give us an edge,” David said in an interview with COSAFA published on the official website. Kick off is at 10.30am.
Regional powerhouse, Zambia will battle it out for the valuable three points against a star-studded Malawian side at 2pm while the host, Zimbabwe will play Madagascar at 4.30pm.