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Ngqabutho Moyo Sports Reporter
FORMER Mighty Warriors midfielder Sithethelelwe “Kwinji 15” Sibanda has been taking newly promoted Tsholotsho FC through their paces in the last two weeks in the absence of head coach Lizwe Sweswe who is attending a Caf A licence course in Harare. Sibanda joined the new boys last month and became the first female coach to be in charge of an organised men’s football team in Zimbabwe and one of the three known females in the world to coach a men’s side.

Club chairman Mlamuli Phiri confirmed the status quo at the club and said the executive was fully behind Sibanda and had all the confidence that she will impart positive tactical and technical skills on the boys.

“We’re very confident that Sibanda will maintain order in the team and continue with the preparatory journey that they started with Sweswe,” said Phiri.

“She is a qualified coach who we believe is more than capable to take our team to greater heights, it is wrong for people to assume that just because she is a woman she cannot do the job that we have tasked her to do.”

Kwinji will get her first real feel of being in charge when Tsholotsho takes on Bulawayo giants Highlanders in a pre-season friendly at Barbourfields Stadium tomorrow.

Iziqholo zeZhowane, as Tsholotsho is known, this week switched their preparations to Bulawayo so that the boys could have a feel of the environment that they will be playing in this season.

They have been using Fairbridge Grounds but for their league matches, the club has since settled for the recently renovated White City Stadium, at least, for the first half of the season.

Work on their own stadium is still ongoing with the chairman of the stadium construction committee Sicelo Dube, telling this publication recently that they will not rest until Premiership football came to Tsholotsho.