The sport of football in the country of Zimbabwe is run by the Zimbabwe Football Association. The association administers the men's national team, the women's national team as well as the Premier League and the Zimbabwean Women's League. It is the most popular sport in that nation.Favorite sports in Zimbabwe Bulawayo24. Visited 12 August 2022. It was introduced to the country by the British colonialists by the end of the 19th century and quickly took hold.Zimbabwe's forgotten football history Africa's a country. Visited 12 August 2022.
Early history From 1890 onwards, white settlers played football in what was then Southern Rhodesia. As in other sports, a strict racial separation prevented Black men and women from participating in the sport. The first club for male Black workers, set up to divert black labourers from protests and gambling, was Highlanders F.C., which was founded in Bulawayo in the 1920s.Zimbabwe's forgotten football history Africa's a country. Visited 12 August 2022. It is unknown whether women's football was organised in any form at the time.
A men's national team was first formed to play the visiting England Amateur national football team in 1929.England's Matches Unofficial until 1946 England Football Online. Visited 12 August 2022. In 1946 a men's national team played a first full international against Northern Rhodesia (Zambia). Until 1965, only white men were selected to play for the national team.Zimbabwe's forgotten football history Africa's a country. Visited 12 August 2022.
Football governance The Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) is the governing body of football in Zimbabwe.Zimbabwe FIFA.com. Visited 12 August 2022. It was formed in 1892 and has governed men's football since then and women's football since the mid-1990s.Zimbabwe: We Are the Pioneers of Women Soccer - Richard AllAfrica.com. Visited 12 August 2022.
ZIFA joined FIFA in 1965Zimbabwe's forgotten football history Africa's a country. Visited 12 August 2022. and CAF in 1980. Zimbabwe Football Association CAFOnline. Visited 12 August 2022.
Leagues The highest tier in women's football is the Zimbabwe Women's Football Super League,Zimbabwe: Women's League Back After Two-Year Absence AllAfrica. Visited 12 August 2022. while the highest men's league is called Zimbabwe Premier Soccer League.Zimbabwe Premier Soccer League Zimbabwe Premier Soccer League Homepage. Visited 12 August 2022.
Cup system The Cup of Zimbabwe is the national men's football cup tournament, while the Zimbabwean Independence Trophy, often also called Uhuru Cup, is an additional annual cup event. There is currently no similar women's national cup tournament in Zimbabwe.
The winner of the previous season's Zimbabwe Premier Soccer League and Cup of Zimbabwe play in the Castle Challenge Cup at the beginning of the following season.
In March, the Munhumutapa Challenge Cup was launched as an additional cup tournament for both, men and women. With a five-year sponsorship, $US5 million prize money annually, including US$1 million for the men's winner and US$200,000 for the women's winner, it is one of Africa's richest competitions.
Men's national team
The biggest success of the Zimbabwe men's national team to date was the participation in the Africa Cup of Nations in Tunisia 2004, Egypt 2006, Gabon 2017, Egypt 2019 and Cameroon 2021. A team of players from the local league furthermore finished fourth at the 2014 African Nations Championship.
Women's national team
The Zimbabwe women's national football team is the only Zimbabwean international team that qualified for a major intercontinental tournament, the 2016 Olympics in Brazil.Rio 2016: Zimbabwe women's arduous journey to Brazil Al Jazeera. Visited 12 August 2022. While losing all three group stage matches against Germany, Canada and Australia, they managed to score a single goal in each match. The national team also finished fourth at the 2000 African Women's Championship in South Africa and qualified for the Women's Africa Cup of Nations in Nigeria 2002, South Africa 2004 and Cameroon 2016.Zimbabwe women's football team Olympics history OkayAfrica. Visited 12 August 2022. In 2011, the women's national team won the 2011 COSAFA Women's Championship on home soil.Zimbabwe 1 - 0 South Africa Final COSAFA Women's Championship, Harare, Zimbabwe 2011 Womens Soccer United. Visited 12 August 2022.
Football clubs in Zimbabwe
Football stadiums in Zimbabwe
Support Twitter research from 2015 found that the most popular English Premier League club in Zimbabwe was Manchester United, with 28% of Zimbabwean Premier League fans following the club, followed by Chelsea (19%) and Arsenal (17%).
Attendances
Average attendances in the men's top-flight league, together with the club recording the highest average attendance:
Season League average Best club Best club average 2023 1,667 Highlanders FC 9,034
Source:https://www.heraldonline.co.zw/500k-fans-attend-psl-matches/
See also Lists of stadiums
References