Zimbabwe football fails to honour one of its own
She carried the game. The game looked away.
By Tatenda Gondo
HARARE — There are players who have donned the Mighty Warriors jersey with pride, and Felistus Muzongondi is undoubtedly one of them.
The former Mighty Warriors captain announced her retirement from competitive football last week, bringing the curtain down on a remarkable career in the most fitting way finishing as one of the top goal scorers in the Zimbabwe Women’s Premier League with an outstanding 34 goals.
Much like Talent Mandaza, Figo is one of the players I have closely followed for more than two decades. Her contribution to the growth and development of women’s football in Zimbabwe is unquestionable and should never be treated as an afterthought.
At both club and national team level, Figo delivered consistently. She won multiple league titles with Black Rhinos Queens and was central to the Mighty Warriors’ qualification for the Olympic Games and the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations on several occasions achievements that firmly place Felistus Muzongondi among Zimbabwe’s elite footballers and make her an Olympian.
Yet, despite this legacy, the silence has been deafening. The Zimbabwe Women’s Premier League, the Zimbabwe Football Association and the Zimbabwe Olympic Committee are yet to officially acknowledge Muzongondi’s retirement.
For a former Mighty Warriors captain to exit the game without a single formal statement from all three institutions is unacceptable. It reflects a worrying culture where those who built the game are celebrated too late or not at all.
This is more than an oversight it is a failure of leadership and institutional memory. Women’s football in Zimbabwe did not grow by accident. It was carried, often quietly and without reward, by players like Figo who showed up, delivered and inspired a generation.
Our institutions must do better not tomorrow, not when it is convenient, but now.
Thank you, Figo, for the goals, the titles, the leadership and the pride you gave to the Mighty Warriors jersey. Thank you for carrying the game when it needed strength, belief and sacrifice. Your legacy is secure, with or without official statements.
