Empowering women through sport

Her dream was to motivate women and equip them with a purpose in life through sport. By the call of destiny, she eventually became involved in administering football. Theresa Maguraushe is the administrator of Zimbabwe Women’s Football administrator.

“I worked as a secretary for the better part of my life but I always had a vision of empowering the girl child through sport,” she told The Zimbabwean in a recent interview.

In 2001, Maguraushe (now 55) formed her own football team, Mufakose Queens, from a group of netball players who just enjoyed the sport.

“It was not easy as most women were not forthcoming. We never had adequate time for training as the players always had other commitments,” she said. But that was just the beginning. Maguraushe was joined by other enthusiasts to form provincial structures, where she was nominated the chairperson for Harare.

At the formation of the National Women’s Soccer body in 2006, Maguraushe took up the position of National Administrator. She says the major challenge for women in sport is their career span, as most quickly drop out. “Husbands should be supportive by giving women a chance to pursue their careers in sport. What happens is that most women drop out as soon as they get married,” she said.

She boasted of having mentored Lilian Masasa, who now plays in the national team. Maguraushe said there was need to involve women at grassroots level so that they appreciate football at a tender age.

“We want football academies for girls. It is a culture that women don’t support sport. The society can be blamed for that because for a woman to just go to a stadium to watch a match, it becomes an issue,” she said, adding that women needed to understand that the benefits of sport were not only confined to health, but it could also be a source of livelihood and socialization for the players.

Zifa has made tremendous strides to ensure women have equal access to sporting resources, which for a long time have been the preserve of males. Marange diamonds is currently funding the women’s football league.