Harare (New Ziana) -The Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) has said it was not party to the travel and logistical arrangements for the group of national women’s team, the Mighty Warriors supporters, who are reportedly stranded in Pretoria, South Africa.

The group of fans travelled to South Africa to support the Mighty Warriors in their Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (AWCON) qualifier against Angola which was played on Wednesday, but found themselves stranded after the match.

They travelled to Pretoria by bus from Simba Bhora Football Club in Shamva, Mashonaland Central province.

In a statement, ZIFA said the group of fans made their own travel plans and liaised directly with the transport providers, who facilitated their journey to Pretoria.

“At no point was ZIFA involved in coordinating or financing their trip to support the women’s national team,” it said.

ZIFA said while it empathised with the plight of the supporters and appreciated their unwavering support for the Mighty Warriors, it was obligated to address the misinformation surrounding the matter.

It reaffirmed its commitment to promoting and developing football in the country, and expressed its appreciation for the passion of supporters.

“We will continue to focus on our mandate of promoting and managing football in Zimbabwe, ensuring that our national teams are well-prepared and supported,” it said.

Meanwhile, the Mighty Warriors crashed out of the tournament after a penalty shootout heartbreak in the first round second leg match at the Lucas Moripe Stadium.

The team, which lost the first leg 2-1 on aggregate in Angola last week, were the home side in the Wednesday match in which it was the host, since Zimbabwe does not have a CAF-certified stadium to host international matches.

The Mighty Warriors looked to be cruising to the next round after taking a 2-0 halftime lead but wasted very good chances early in the second half, for which they paid dearly when Angola made the aggregate score 3-3 in the 77th minute.

With the aggregate score remaining like that after 90 minutes and, with no extra time at that stage of the qualifiers, it headed straight to the dreaded penalty kicks, where the Angolan players held their cool and scored all their allotted five kicks.

Mighty Warriors goalkeeper Lilian Magwede dragged her shot wide off target with the fifth kick for Zimbabwe to hand Angola victory on a 5-4 penalty shoot-out.

Angola will play Malawi over two legs in the second and final round of the qualifiers.

New Ziana