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Ellina Mhlanga Sports Reporter
THE senior women national team’s preparations for the African Women Championships qualifiers against Botswana are now in full swing, with the side set to leave on Sunday for the first round tie.
The first leg is set for next Thursday in Molepolole, 50km outside Gaborone.
If Zimbabwe triumph over Botswana, they will face the winners between Zambia and Tanzania in the second and last qualifying round tie between May and June.

The technical team called 30 players into camp, including the seasoned crew of Ruvimbo Mutyavaviri, Marjory Nyaumwe, Rudo Neshamba and Nokuthula Ndlovu.

The only new faces in the squad are strikers Chipo Muvavarirwa of Masvingo and Rachel Mutseneki from Tenax.
The team has been training at Barclays Sports Club and Rufaro since Monday.

Mighty Warriors assistant coach, Yohannes Chikaola, said preparations were going well and they were working on various combinations.
However, there is concern over the strike-force with Erina Jeke ruled out due to a back injury.

She was part of the team that travelled to Egypt recently for friendly international games.
“Preparations are going on well and we are trying certain combinations in terms of shaping our defence, midfield and strike-force.
“However, Erina Jeke is not in the team due to injury.

“She has a backache and was always complaining when we were in Egypt. She aggravated the injury when she played in the NetOne tournament.

“Ruvimbo Mutyavaviri and Rudo Neshamba have some knocks.
“We are supposed to leave on Sunday morning. We will have our final training Saturday morning,” said Chikaola.

The African Women Championships are also acting as qualifiers for next year’s World Cup to be staged in Canada.
The top three countries in Namibia will progress to the World Cup.

Two years ago the Mighty Warriors failed to qualify for the African Women Championships after they lost to Nigeria in the first round.
They had beaten Botswana in the preliminary round.