All about the friendships made for Zimbabwe
Since 2006, Young Achievement Sports for Development (YASD) has been Zimbabwe’s official partner, sending teams to over 10 editions of the Homeless World Cup, including Denmark (2007), Mexico (2018), Wales (2019) and South Korea (2024).
However, here in Oslo, Zimbabwe have brought a women’s team to the tournament for the first time. On Day 7 they faced off against Homeless World Cup United - a team made up of local women in Norway who deserve the opportunity to play football on a world stage and be part of this life-changing event - in the City of Oslo Cup.
Homeless World Cup United registered the first chance on goal, producing a fine save from the Zimbabwe goalkeeper, before the keeper was called into action a second time to prevent Homeless World Cup United taking the lead. Zimbabwe then grew into the game with some neat spells of possession play, before a strike from distance stung the palms of the Homeless World Cup United keeper. As they ramped up the pressure, a back heel assist put Zimbabwe through on goal, only for the Homeless World Cup United keeper to produce a fine save from close-range. With Homeless World Cup United on the back foot, Zimbabwe missed the chance to go in front from the penalty spot after another fine stop from the Homeless World Cup United keeper. However, Zimbabwe’s pressure soon paid off as they went 1-0 up off a rebound before a sweet strike saw them go 2-0 up.
Into the second half, Homeless World Cup United had the chance to pull one back but drilled a shot just wide, before Zimbabwe stretched their lead with a cool finish from the penalty spot after an infringement. A tidy right foot strike saw them go 3-0 up, before Homeless World Cup United got their first of the match with a fabulous attacking move. A pass off the boards found a player free on the right wing to bury a left foot shot into the corner. The Homeless World Cup United keeper produced another great save to deny Zimbabwe from the penalty spot, but couldn’t keep out the African side’s fourth off the game moments later from a rebound. The last chance of the game fell to Homeless World Cup United, with the Zimbabwe keeper producing a smart save with their left-foot from a right-foot shot from distance.
Zimbabwe coach Ranganayi Joe Kuseka said: “It was a very good match for us. We showed the spirit of coming together against the Homeless World Cup United team. For us it was a good occasion to show friendship and for the girls to just have fun. For us this tournament has been a learning curve. It’s our first time actually bringing women to the Homeless World Cup. There are a lot of dynamics that we’ve been trying to build with them. We are trying to empower them and build their confidence for them to be able to go back home and to take up new initiatives. So playing in such a match was good and it was also good for their confidence too as they’ve only had one or two matches where they won. So this was a morale booster for them. We are so happy that they had this opportunity for them to develop themselves personally and for them to also grow."
About Oslo, he added: "The experience has been amazing. The food. The weather. The people. For the players this is a huge experience in terms of a cultural exchange for them to also learn new things. Taking the subway and the bus. This has just been so interesting for them. And I hope that when they go back home they will go back home with a lot of confidence for them to tackle new challenges without any fear at all. Most of them have been making new friends and supporting other teams.They’ve also been exchanging their shirts with other players.
“We have heard that people are saying that our jersey is the best jersey in the tournament. So a lot of players have been coming to them to exchange their shirts. I’m hoping that they use that as an opportunity to follow up on the friendships that they have made. For us this is beyond football. It’s about friendships and connections that they make.”
Words by Craig Williams | Photos by John Anderson