From Robert Mutsauki in Maputo, Mozambique
PICTURE the great Maria Mutola in the lineup of the Mozambique women's national soccer team during the 10th All-Africa Games and you will begin to get a good sense of the elaborate plan crafted by the hosts to ensure that a fair share of the medals on offer remain in Mozambique.
They are certainly giving new meaning to the phrase "leaving no stone unturned". The chef de mission of Team Mozambique, Antonio Munguambe, last weekend revealed that the team comprising of 350 athletes, and officially referred to as "Mozambique Mission" here, will participate in all 20 sporting disciplines on the Games' programme with the aim of winning 19 medals. He also confirmed that the iconic

Mutola, who retired from competitive athletics after the 2008 Beijing Olympics, will feature in their women's national soccer team during the Games although this team is not being touted as a medal prospect because it is largely a development side.
The dim prospects in terms of the team's performance are, however, unlikely to stop Mutola, who started her sports career as a soccer player, mixing it up with boys, before switching to athletics where she later gained fame and fortune, from hogging the limelight. This is a classical case of turning full circle but one can only imagine the excitement of the young girls in the team who will not only literally rub shoulders with their idol but will also get unparalleled direct inspiration from "The Maputo Express".

Munguambe, who is also the Director-General of the National Institute of Sport in Mozambique, was brimming with confidence on the performance prospects of his athletes in the "medal prospect category" and insisted that the set target of 19 medals is a realistic one. But I questioned the basis of his optimism given that Mozambique has so far won only seven medals (three gold, two silver and two bronze) in six previous editions of the All-Africa Games, starting with their maiden appearance at the 4th edition in Nairobi, Kenya, in 1987.

In fact, the last edition in Algiers four years ago yielded only one precious gold medal from another brilliant 800m specialist, Leonor Piuza.

This lady, who is now in her early 30s, will be going for gold again in Maputo. Add to this the fact that the mercurial Mutola, who at one time was always a sure bet for a gold medal at any level of competition, has since retired from athletics and you have a good basis for stirring a healthy debate on this subject. Munguambe was, however, unmoved and calmly responded: "Apart from the fact that we will be competing at home, we have a very large and well prepared contingent. We formulated a very good preparation plan and implemented it effectively. As a matter of fact, we invested heavily in our preparations."

He further explained the different phases of their preparation which ranged from the setting of challenging but achievable objectives, selecting an initial squad in excess of 450 athletes, scouting for and engaging Mozambican athletes in the diaspora with good sports performances particularly those in America and Europe, securing foreign coaches, organising regular competition against national and club sides mainly in South Africa as well as sending selected individual athletes and teams for intensive training and competition exposure abroad.
Let the current relentless drive for success be a lasting legacy!