Matabeleland football team
The Matabeleland football team is the team representing Matabeleland, the western part of Zimbabwe. They are not affiliated with FIFA or CAF, and therefore cannot compete for the FIFA World Cup or the Africa Cup of Nations.[1][2][3] The Team is affiliated to the Confederation of Independent Football Associations (ConIFA).
 | ||
| Nickname(s) | Ingqungqulu | |
|---|---|---|
| Association | Matabeleland Football Confederacy | |
| Confederation | ConIFA | |
| Head coach | Giuseppe Cristaldi | |
| Captain | Praise Ndlovu | |
| Most caps | Khulekani Maziwa Oscar George (24) | |
| Top scorer | Sawusani Mudimba Mduduzi Mpofu (13) | |
| Home stadium | Various Stadiums | |
| ||
| First international | ||
  (Sutton, United Kingdom; 31 May 2018) | ||
| Biggest win | ||
 (Haringey, United Kingdom; 3 June 2018) | ||
| Biggest defeat | ||
(Sutton, United Kingdom; 31 May 2018) | ||
| ConIFA World Football Cup | ||
| Appearances | 1 (first in 2018) | |
| Best result | 13th, 2018 | |
History
The Team is run by Matabeleland Football Confederacy which is itself administered by the Save Matabeleland Coalition.[4] Matabeleland Football Confederacy is an Independent Football Association promoting football in Matabeleland. The Confederacy is open to all clubs and soccer associations in Matabeleland provided they subscribe to the Constitution of MFC. Its objectives being development through sport, Soccer for human rights Community Development. Career grooming and exposure. International Representation. The Confederacy was founded in 2016 by Busani Sibindi who is its President. The Technical Director who is also a Co-founder is Busani Khanye.
The team were originally scheduled to play their first official friendly against Darfur on 10 December 2017, however travel problems led to the game being cancelled. Nevertheless, because of results in unofficial games against club sides, Matabeleland still gathered enough points to qualify for the 2018 ConIFA World Football Cup in London.
Conifa World Football Cup Participation
Matabeleland have played in the 2018 ConIFA World Football Cup qualification. Matabeleland participated in its maiden major Tournament,[5] the CONIFA World Football Cup to be held in London from 31 May to 10 June 2018. As part of the promotion for the tournament, sponsors Paddy Power launched a competition to design the kit Matabeleland will wear during the competition.[6] With English coach Justin Walley at the helm, it was previously announced that former Liverpool great Bruce Grobbelaar would work as goalkeeping coach while Halifax Town and current Zimbabwe international Cliff Moyo would appear for the side. However, when the final squad was announced, Moyo did not appear.
At the tournament, Matabeleland experienced a testing first game, losing 6–1 to Padania, while Thabiso Ndlela scored their first competitive goal. A final game victory over Tuvalu delivered a record 3–1 win with Shylock Ndlovu scoring a brace, pitting them against Algerian region Kabylia in the first placement round. Despite a strong performance, the Matabeleland side fell 4–3 on penalties. However, boosted by the appearance of Zimbabwean legend Bruce Grobbelaar, two 1–0 victories followed against Chagos Islands (replacing the expelled Ellan Vannin) and Tamil Eelam as the African team eventually finished 13th in the overall tournament rankings.
At the end of the tournament, English coach Justin Walley stepped down as manager, while the MFC announced the formation of a women's team[7] and participation in the 2018 Human Rights Cup.[8]
International record
At CONIFA World Football Cup
| Year | Position | P | W | D | L | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ConIFA World Football Cup | |||||||
 | Not a CONIFA Member | ||||||
 | Did not qualify | ||||||
.svg.png){kind=small} | 13th | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 12 |
| Total | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 12 | |
Current squad
The following players were called up to the 2018 ConIFA World Football Cup. Caps and goals correct as of 30 May 2018.
Note: While ConIFA accepts unofficial games as caps, Matabeleland's first officially recognised game was 31 May 2018 against
| No. | Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Goals | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GK | Thandazani Mdlongwa | 8 January 1988 | 18 | 0 |  |
| 29 | GK | Notice Dube | 26 November 1988 | 7 | 0 | |
| 13 | GK | Bruce Sithole | 7 April 1991 | 1 | 0 | Unattached |
| 96 | GK | Bruce Grobbelaar | 6 October 1957 | 0 | 0 | Retired |
| 4 | DF | Khulekani Maziwa | 15 September 1988 | 24 | 7 | Unattached |
| 12 | DF | Sipho Mlalazi | 14 September 1991 | 20 | 9 | Unattached |
| 14 | DF | Praise Ndlovu (captain) | 12 July 1993 | 20 | 0 | Unattached |
| 6 | DF | Mthulisi Mbizo | 24 September 1994 | 17 | 1 | |
| 2 | DF | Michael Sibindi | 13 September 1992 | 9 | 0 | Unattached |
| 15 | DF | Mthulusi Dube | 8 September 1995 | 3 | 0 | Unattached |
| 10 | MF | Oscar George | 7 January 1996 | 24 | 6 | Unattached |
| 7 | MF | Andisiwe Sibindi | 14 June 1986 | 19 | 1 | Unattached |
| 17 | MF | Thomas Nkomo | 25 September 1989 | 18 | 5 | Unattached |
| 3 | MF | Bekithemba Moyo | 25 April 1987 | 16 | 11 | Unattached |
| 8 | MF | Sawusani Mudimba | 12 May 1997 | 10 | 13 | |
| 11 | MF | Romeo Sibanda | 1 April 1990 | 4 | 0 | Unattached |
| 5 | MF | Godwin Ndlovu | 11 December 1988 | 3 | 0 | Unattached |
| 16 | MF | Musa Sthamburi | ||||
| 22 | FW | Mduduzi Mpofu | 30 September 1996 | 23 | 13 | |
| 21 | FW | Professor Tshuma | 27 April 1990 | 23 | 10 | Unattached |
| 18 | FW | Shylock Ndlovu | 8 March 1990 | 10 | 8 | Unattached |
| 19 | FW | Thabiso Ndlela | 10 September 1996 | 8 | 7 | Unattached |
| 20 | FW | Dumenkosini Ndlovu | 1 August 1996 | 7 | 3 | |
References
- "Matabeleland". CONIFA. Retrieved 2017-09-17.
- eDuzeNet. "Matebeleland National Football Team seeks a Nickname - uMthwakazi Review". www.umthwakazireview.com.
- eDuzeNet. "Approval of Matabeleland Football Confederacy into CONIFA". Bulawayo24 News.
- "SAVE MATABELELAND COALITION". www.savematabelelandcoalition.org. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
- eDuzeNet. "Matabeleland gears up for the World Football Cup". Bulawayo24 News. Retrieved 2017-12-19.
- GET SHIRTY – YOUR CHANCE TO DESIGN KITS AT THE CONIFA WORLD FOOTBALL CUP! Paddy Power.
- Cup, Human Rights (21 September 2018). "The women's football team of #Matabeleland in #Zimbabwe are preparing for their first International #football games at the @HumanRightsCup which will take place in Johannesburg #SouthAfrica to promote @UNHumanRights Day. @MatabelFootball @QueenLozikeyiAc #InternationalDayOfPeacepic.twitter.com/vbm5UqlTCH". twitter.com. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
- Cup, Human Rights (23 September 2018). "After participating at the CONIFA World Cup in London, @MatabelFootball is planning their next international #football game at the @HumanRightsCup in #Johannesburg. Team #Matabeleland from #Zimbabwe will send an important message of hope, peace, and #humanrights. @SavMatabelelandpic.twitter.com/koE9YN2eLW". twitter.com. Retrieved 28 January 2019.