The Mighty Warriors were the last Zimbabwe national team to take part in an official international match before the FIFA suspension.

The country’s senior women’s national soccer team beat Botswana 2-0 in an AWCON qualifier at the Obedi Itani Chiume Stadium in Francistown on February 22 last year.

Despite that impressive victory away from home, the Mighty Warriors failed to book a a place at the AWCON finals in Morroco, as they needed and couldn’t get one more goal to overturn the 3-1 first leg deficit.

Two days later, FIFA suspended Zimbabwe for what the world governing body termed ‘third party interference’, after the country’s sports regulatory body —the Sports and Recreation Commission (SRC) suspended the Felton Kamambo-led ZIFA executive.

As fate would have it, the Mighty Warriors were the first to represent Zimbabwe in an official international match after the suspension was lifted on July 10 this year.

Shadreck Mlauzi’s troops began their 2023 Cosafa Women’s Championship campaign in South Africa, with a 1-0 victory over Lesotho yesterday.

Ironically, Privilege Mupeti, the scorer of Zimbabwe’s last goal before the suspension in the victory over Botswana, netted the winner against Lesotho.

The Black Rhinos Queens forward’s solitary 59th minute strike was all the Mighty Warriors need to collect maximum points, to the delight of Mlauzi.