ANTICIPATION is building for the upcoming LM Zaka Girls Festival after the official tournament draw was conducted on Saturday morning at St Joseph High School, laying the groundwork for a high-stakes weekend of schoolgirls’ football.
Presided over by National Association of Secondary School Heads (NASH) Secretary Tawanda Nzvenga, the ceremony sorted eight participating teams into two balanced groups. Host school St Joseph High and Mutsambwa High were named as the seeded sides, anchoring Group A and Group B respectively as the early tournament favourites.
In Group A, seeded St Joseph will compete against Mutimwi, Chimbwembwe, and Magura. Group B promises equal intensity, pitting seeded Mutsambwa against Dzoro High, Rudhanda High, and the invitation-side Maningi Youth Soccer Academy.
Former Zimbabwe Women Premier Soccer League Chairperson Theresa Maguraushe attended the proceedings as the official sponsor representative, reflecting the growing institutional backing for female sports development in the region.
The festival will feature 16 matches in total. Group matches will be played in a round-robin format consisting of two 20-minute halves with a five-minute break, with playing time set to increase during the knockout phase.
The top two teams from each group will advance to the cross-group semi-finals, where the winner of Group A will meet the runner-up of Group B, and vice versa.
Organisers expressed full confidence in the venue’s preparations following the event.
“We are ready to host,” said Local Tournament Chairperson and St Joseph Sports Director Blessed Matereke.
“The teams are divided into two groups of four, and this festival is about giving our juniors and seniors a platform to showcase their talent.”
Despite facing a challenging group alongside two seeded contenders, Maningi Youth Soccer Academy coach Maxwell Musana remains optimistic about his squad’s prospects.
“Our team is now based at St Joseph and features the core of St Joseph players,” Musana noted. “We expect competition from the two seeded sides, but the girls are motivated.”
