Last week the Zimbabwe Football Association (Zifa) announced a new US$10 000 sponsorship for the Zimbabwe Women’s Premier Soccer League just before the commencement of its season.
The new sponsor, Ponera Construction (Private)Limited, through its chief executive officer, Julius Maredza, handed over the sponsorship.
However, the sponsor and the association were later rediculed by football fans.
Some felt that Ponera Construction had invested too little in the women's league considering that cleric Walter Magaya committed US$320 000 last year.
Others thought the package should not be referred to as sponsorship as it was a drop in the ocean.
The criticism was unfair on the sponsor who poured US$10 000 into a league which was about to kick off without a sponsor.
Women's football has always been overlooked by the corporate world even though the women managed to qualify for the 2016 Rio Olympics, easily the biggest achievement by any football team in Zimbabwe.
The Women's League has remained amateur in Zimbabwe despite efforts by Caf through the club licensing regulations.
- Women football sponsors must be celebrated
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Caf Licensing requirements demand that a football club must have a women’s first team, which must take part in official competitions or programmes played at the national, regional or local level and recognised by the Caf member association.
This was a ploy to have sponsorship for the men's game spread to women.
Ponera Construction should be applauded for sacrificing something for the benefit of the women's game, however little it may appear to some.
At a time when corporates are realigning their expenditures due to a tough economic environment, the gesture by the construction firm must be applauded.
This gesture can inspire other organisations to chip in for the good of the girl child.
It is laudable that Zifa president Nqobile Magwizi appreciated Ponera Construction's gesture.
"We are excited by the prospects of the relationships we are building in women's football. It's not our day in general, but it is a Women's day where we celebrate the partnership that is being consummated today between women's football and Ponera Construction.
"They have come in at the correct time. Our league is starting this weekend (tomorrow), so we are very excited by the decision that Ponera Construction has made to come on board. We are looking to build stronger relationships right across the board, across the Zimbabwean corporate sector. It's one of the pillars that we see our football transforming. We are looking to develop more and more relationships," he said.
The Zimbabwe Women's Soccer League must do more to package the game so that it is attractive to sponsors.
Matches should be played in Zifa-accredited stadiums where Castle Lager Premier Soccer League matches are held.
It would also be good if more sponsors could come on board and put a smile on the face of the girl child.
