Linnet’s still marching to the sound of her own drum
Linnet played for the Zimbabwe Men’s team at the Seoul 2024 Homeless World Cup and helped her team with the Tier 4 competition in Seoul’s capital city
Image: Anita Milas
The Seoul 2024 Homeless World Cup, like every tournament, produced its fair number of legends. One of these was a young girl on the Zimbabwe team – the sole female in that Men’s team in Seoul – whose radiant smile was only eclipsed by her brilliance on the pitch.
Linnet Moyo, then 25, displayed a brilliance between the sticks that not only saw her team lift the Men’s Tier 4 D’Live Cup – after epic saves during a nerve-wracking penalty shootout against Denmark – but also take the award as Men’s Team Goalkeeper of the Tournament.
The sunny demeanour of the Liverpool-FC-mad, recent accounting graduate of Bulawayo Polytechnic belied a tough beginning, however. Raised in a tiny rural village by grandparents after her mother left to work in another country when she was a baby, Linnet not only continued to take on life alone but also fought the system to compete in a male-oriented sport, inspired by two goals:
“My dream is to play for the top teams and make my mum proud,” she stated, under the South Korea sun eighteen months ago.
Linnet at home in Zimbabwe
Seoul - and now Oslo - have come and gone, Mexico is on the horizon but Linnet has never forgotten the feeling of that Finals day, as we caught up with her back home in Bulawayo recently. Still smiling, continuing to be inspired and always inspiring.
“The support of my football family and everyone from the Homeless World Cup made me realise that I can conquer the pitch, especially after winning the best goalkeeper of the tournament award,”
“Everything just fueled up and I felt like I wasn’t just a player but a champion.
“The tournament boosted my confidence after having managed to play in the men's game, made various saves for my team and then to be crowned the best goalie – it just elevated my confidence so much.”
Football has figured a little less in Linnet’s life over the last year or so however because, no sooner than returning from South Korea, Linnet had another big obligation and a whole new set of boots to fulfil.
“I spent the whole year off the pitch,” she continues, “as I had to do my national duty of military service. I have been in the military training school but I am definitely going back to football this year 2026!
Though she still keeps in touch with a number of players – both from Zimbabwe and across the world – from 2024, being in military camp meant she couldn’t send her wishes to last year’s national squad prior to Oslo and share with them the difference participating in Homeless World Cup made to her life.
“No question, the Homeless World Cup rekindled my passion for football,” she recalls. “It reignited my love for football since I had been on the brink of quitting earlier in 2024.”
About to throw herself back into the soccer scene after her enforced absence, Linnet is still aiming to play for a top team – “even if it means playing outside my own country. In 2023 I even went for trials in Denmark. It didn’t happen, but I’ll keep trying,” she adds.
Her other goal, however, has been fulfilled. She managed to reconnect with her mum, who had left to seek work as a maid hundreds of miles away when Linnet was two.
“Yes, I managed to visit my mother in South Africa where she works,” Linnet reports, “and she was very happy about my performance. She even encouraged me to work hard to reach greater heights.”
For someone who is continually raising the bar in her sport and in her nation, we’ve no doubt those heights will not only be reached but exceeded – and, as always, done with a smile.
Linnet won Best Men’s Goalkeeper at the Seoul 2024 Homeless World Cup and received her well deserved award from Homeless World Cup President Mel Young
Image: Anita Milas
Words by Isobel Irvine
Images by Anita Milas