Mighty Warriors wraps up their campaign with a 1-6 defeat

WITH the Olympics dream over for the gallant Mighty Warriors who put up spirited performances despite losing all their Group F matches, focus now for the girls is firmly on the next tourney, the African Women Nations Cup set for Cameroon in December.

The Mighty Warriors marked their maiden appearance at the Olympics with a 1-6 loss to world powerhouse Germany, followed by another loss to Canada, who beat them 3-1 before wrapping up their campaign with a 1-6 defeat to Australia.

All the three Group F sides except Zimbabwe, went through to the next round.

The girls, who had miserable preparations compared to all the women teams in the tournament, charmed a lot of hearts the world over, probably leaving Zifa with an egg on the face for the failure to arrange a proper training programme for the team, including any meaningful friendly match. Even with all the poor preparations compared to their fellow Southern African neighbours, Banyana Banyana, the Mighty Warriors managed to score three goals while South Africa fired blanks.

However, this time around, the national association wants to avoid a similar situation and said a proper and vibrant preparatory plan will be rolled out soon.

"We would soon be rolling out a vibrant preparatory plan for the Mighty Warriors ahead of their participation in the Women Afcon finals," said Zifa communications manager Xolisani Gwesela.

He said despite the defeats, the association like every Zimbabwean, remained proud of the gallant Olympic debut by the Shadreck Mlauzi-coached girls.

"Despite consecutive defeats in the Olympics, we are proud of these girls for being the first Zimbabwe football team to qualify for the Olympics games," said Gwesela.

Meanwhile, the girls are expected back home on Saturday where a voiceferous reception shall be waiting for them at the Harare International Airport.