The Pearl of wisdom at the heart of the Zimbabwean team
|Image: Daniel Lipinski
“Myself, the players, and the coach are all in sync. And I’m enjoying every minute of it.”
The Zimbabwe team stands out from most of the other nations competing at this year’s Homeless World Cup more than just for the team’s colourful strips.
That’s because the men’s Zimbabwe team have a female manager in the form of Harare-born Pearl Gambiza.
Managing the team is a new experience for Gambiza, but it’s one she is revelling in.
“Managing an all-male team is quite an experience. For me it’s new, but I like it. I like the challenge and the way it just opens up as we go along as I begin to talk to other people and managers in a position similar to mine, asking them how they are doing, how they are balancing the players, and then being the manager.”
And the relationship she has developed with the players means that they have arrived in Mexico City ready to make the most of the tournament.
“As a manager, if you don’t communicate with your players it is a lot of responsibility in trying to understand the players and get along with them. With me it’s not really a problem. It’s not too much of a responsibility because myself, the players, and the coach are all in sync. And I’m enjoying every minute of it.”
She also hopes that the players will return to their native Zimbabwe following the tournament with a fresh, positive attitude—one that will allow them to be ready for new challenges that will await them in the future.
“For me the most important thing for the players to learn is inclusion. I personally want them to look at their lives differently and think that, “If I can play soccer in my position and social status, then there’s nothing that can stop me.
|Image: Daniel Lipinski
“To further help them we’ve got a lot of vocational training after the tournament—post-participation support—which most of them are looking forward to.”
Gambiza has spent five years as part of the Young Achievement Sports for Development (YASD) organisation, which picks and runs Team Zimbabwe for the Homeless World Cup, and she is really glad to be a key part of it.
“I first started with YASD as an intern in 2013 when was in college. When I was at school, I got a lot of monetary work so for me this was a different dimension altogether.
“I like sport, and for me YASD is one of the only organisations doing this kind of thing at home in using football for social change. I definitely wanted to be part of that.”
Playing a key role within Team Zimbabwe has allowed her to see first hand how the selection process and tournament itself is helping to change the lives of the players involved.
“You can literally see the change and transformation in the players since we had our selection process back in June. There’s a lot of discipline now, and a lot of the players are actually wanting to look beyond what they were doing before the Homeless World Cup and the selection tournament.”
In Zimbabwe, people with albinism are often discriminated against, marginalised and socially excluded and, in a break from tradition, YASD have included a player with albinism in their squad this year.
Doing so is helping change the perception and attitudes of Zimbabwean society towards people with the genetic disorder, according to Gambiza.
“We had one specific player who lives with albinism. People still don’t understand the whole albinism situation so for him being part of this means being included and being able to participate makes him look at life in a different way now.
|Image: Daniel Lipinski
“Before you’d find there was a lot of stigma, and now that he is involved in the Homeless World Cup people accept him and look at him differently.”
Having a woman as the manager of the Homeless World Cup side has seen more collateral benefits take shape back in Zimbabwe.
“People in Zimbabwe are still quite reluctant for women to participate in sport. So at last having a woman manager at the top helps brings that atmosphere with it that woman can participate.
“More women are coming through and signing up to play football. Even the parents are more accepting of it and are supporting their daughters. We actually have a women’s team now at home.”
Speaking of the women’s team, Gambiza hopes that at the 17th edition of the Homeless World Cup we will be able to witness both a men’s and women’s team competing under the Zimbabwe flag.
“This year is basically a learning curve for us all, and we are trying to move to the next stage whereby in 2019 we will bring with us a women’s team.
“We really found a lot of women who want to get involved in the sport and who are really good at football. It’s something that I am spearheading. And the support is just amazing.”
As for what thing she will most take home from coaching her nation’s team at this year’s tournament, she was clear: “That you don’t necessarily have to be a certain gender or a certain social class to participate and succeed in the sport—or in life in general,” she said.
Words: Craig Williams
Images: Daniel Lipinski