ZAFF extend teams to Hwange Amputees

In an effort to promote awareness, acceptance, and respect for individuals with limb differences, the Zimbabwe Amputee Federation (ZAFF), has set up more Amputee Football Clubs in Hwange and
Victoria Falls.

Amputee football is a sport played with seven players on each team. Outfield players have lower extremity amputations, and goalkeepers have an upper extremity amputation. Outfield players use lofstrand crutches, and play without their prosthesis

In an interview, the Zimbabwe Amputee Football Federation President Robson McLeigh Musarafu who is also the Zimbabwe Amputee Football National Team Manager said ZAFF is decentralising to establish teams in the country.

“Due to the said Decentralisation and National Structure Development Programme, Hwange is one
town that has created an Amputee Football team under the leadership of Mr Frederick Mafira. New associations being formed are first regarded as just teams or groups until they satisfy the
requirements of and become full members of ZAFF,” said Musarafu.

Amputee Football started in Ruwa in 2019 with the formation of Ruwa George Al-Quds Amputee FC
(Al-Quds FC), an Amputee Football Club formed to play Amputee Football.

“In December 2022, the club engaged the international governing bodies, the Confederation of
African Amputee Football (CAAF) and the World Amputee Football Federation (ZAFF) for international affiliations. Locally we also affiliated with the Zimbabwe National Paralympic Committee (ZNPC).The club is so far the only fully constitutes club in Zimbabwe and a full member of the Zimbabwe Amputee Football Federation (ZAFF). It started recruiting players, first to the club who came in their numbers to Ruwa and are playing with Al-Quds FC),” explained Musarafu.

There are five clubs of Amputee football countrywide and these clubs are building up their structures to be fully fledged clubs and members off ZAFF.

Musarafu said women have not taken up the offer to join and encouraged them to be part of the
football club.

“However, the ladies with disabilities are not taking up the opportunity at a time when we need to prepare a national team for the WAFF Women World Cup scheduled for November this year in Colombia. We are urging women to rise in their majority numbers to form or join existing teams and clubs,” he said.

Frederick Mafira, the ZAFF representative based in Victoria falls said the vision for amputee football is to create an inclusive and empowering environment.

“Individuals with physical disabilities have the opportunity to participate in and excel at the sport of football. We aim to promote awareness, acceptance, and respect for individuals with limb
differences, and to demonstrate the incredible abilities and athleticism of amputee football players” he said.

“Our plan is to have amputees in Hwange have their own team and Vic Falls their own. Recruitment
of players is an ongoing process. But we want the community to support the sport,” he said.

Meanwhile, the ZAFF national team once qualified for the first all Africa Games in Ghana which was the first international appearance for Zimbabwe, it is one of the qualifiers for the CANAF Games in Cairo Egypt, for 2026.