Mighty Warriors coach Sithethelelwe ‘Kwinji’ Sibanda says she is focusing on improving players’ fitness levels in the team’s early preparations for the COSAFA Women’s Championship.
The tournament is set to start on February 18 and will run until March 1 in Polokwane, South Africa.
Zimbabwe Women’s Premier Soccer League is currently on off-season and Sibanda highlighted the importance of getting her charges fit before focusing on the tactical side.
“Since we have just started preparations coming from the holidays, our first focus is on building aerobic capacity,” said Sibanda.
“The focus is on the conditioning side of things so that when we start tactically, the players are in a better shape.”
Sibanda said the response from the players has been encouraging, adding that the technical team is gradually increasing the workload as they target peak condition.
“It’s been quite overwhelming. The response has been good and we hope to keep it like that,” she said. “We are trying to make it rise every day and we have been progressing very well. We expect to be at our peak as we get to the competition.”
Looking ahead to the group stage, Sibanda acknowledged the physical demands of the tournament and the importance of opponent analysis.
“It’s a very big game and a very physical one as well,” she said. “When you know your opponents, you know how to train and how to focus. Obviously, we are going to analyse their recent matches and see where they are and how best we can approach that game.”
While Zambia are among the teams in their group, Sibanda said the Mighty Warriors will take the competition one match at a time.
“We are talking about Zambia, but the first focus is on the first game,” she said.
“If we get it right in the first match, it gives the players confidence. Zambia being Zambia, it’s a big team, but we focus on the first game and see how we do.”
Zimbabwe are in Group B alongside Zambia, Eswatini and Botswana at the tournament.
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