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FOR THE GIRL CHILD . . . Harare businessman Philip Chiyangwa (left) makes a donation to the Mighty Warriors, which was handed to Sports Commission director general Charles Nhemachena in Harare yesterday

Ellina Mhlanga Sports Reporter
HARARE businessman and aspiring ZIFA presidential candidate Philip Chiyangwa yesterday donated $10 000 to the Mighty Warriors following the team’s historic qualification for the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro next year. Chiyangwa announced last week, during another donation to the Warriors following their qualification for the 2016 CHAN finals, that he would also give the same support to the Mighty Warriors.

And yesterday he presented the money to the Sports Commission director-general Charles Nhemachena at the SRC offices at the National Sports Stadium. Nhemachena will then make arrangements with the team on the disbursement of the funds “to ensure that it gets to the real players.” Chiyangwa said he is just fulfilling the promise he made last week.

“It’s $10 000, remember I made a promise on the last day that I was giving the Warriors $10 000. So I did give them $10 000. I want to see how it’s managed. “The thing is there is some misunderstanding within the women football board and it’s unlike when I called the Warriors to come through and get the money from my office.

“This time I had to do it here just to ensure that it gets to the real players themselves. Simply leave the money where its safe and the players themselves will get it directly from Nhemachena here at Sports and Recreation Commission.

“It was the Minister’s concern for this money to be given directly to the players that’s the reason why I am ending up at the Sports and Recreation Commission and having to go through the Ministry. “I don’t know, I don’t want to get involved in the politics, let the money go to Nhemachena but certainly the Minister said let the money go to Nhemachena then Nhemachena will sort it out.

“It was his emphasis in our agreement that these funds be given to the players themselves, afterwards I will be given a written sheet where the players have signed for the money,” said Chiyangwa.

The Mighty Warriors made history by becoming the first football team in the country to qualify for the Olympic Games when they beat Cameroon on away goals rule after the tie ended 2-2 on aggregate. Nhemachena said they appreciated the support from Chiyangwa and this will go a long way in boosting the team’s morale.

“I am particularly elated by the fact that the Minister’s concern, and your concern of course, for making sure that what we do for the boys is also what we do for the girls because they are equally our children.

“Half the time we have had the situation where we have discouraged the girls because of this unequal treatment. “And yet guess what it is the girl child who has put us on the world map in terms of sport. Our first gold medal (at the Olympics) came from the girl child. “Then after that the only other gold medals that we have received at the Olympics are from the girl child, that’s Kirsty Coventry.

“And right now the first football team to ever qualify for the Olympics again is the girl child yet quite often we make the mistake of not giving them the appropriate support. So I want to thank you very much on behalf of Sport and Recreation Commission for this gesture,” said Nhemachena.

ZIFA chief executive, Jonathan Mashingaidze, hailed Chiyangwa for coming in to support the Mighty Warriors as they have raised the country’s flag high by qualifying for the Olympics. Zimbabwe Women Football board member competition Cecilia Gambe said they were going to vote for Chiyangwa.

That means he would be guaranteed their four votes. “As Zimbabwe Women Football we are going to vote for you (Chiyangwa), we endorse your candidature as we were the first people to approach you.

“So count four votes from women. “On behalf of women we are endorsing Dr Chiyangwa as ZIFA president not because he gave us his money but we were the first people to approach him . . . We saw his finance manager, I think that’s some five months back, he had attended a funeral.

“So we are saying since we are the ones who started the journey we as Zimbabwe Women football we are going to vote for you, we endorse your candidature and we were the first people to approach you. So count four votes from women,” said Gambe.