PLAYING football was not the career Zimbabwe women football champions Herentals Queens captain Loveness Mukura dreamt about growing up as a little girl.
Like many a young girl her heart was sold out for the career of an airhostess, but fate had other ideas.
At the age of 18, back in 2008, she kicked a football for the first time and now she has just guided Herentals Queens to a maiden league championship.
It was her nimble feet on the athletics track that assured a sporting career at the Queens.
“Funny enough, I dreamt of becoming an air hostess when I was young, but this is totally different from my initial dream, I am definitely enjoying it though and looking forward to greater success,” Mukura told The Sports Hub.
“When I started playing soccer I was 18 years old and it’s something I never thought that I would do but back at school I was an athlete. It was when I was just doing my internship at Herentals Group of Colleges that my talent was realised by the coaches, who were there that time.
“At that time it was just social football and from then I never looked back. Fortunately for us we got to play in competitive leagues two year later. And what made a big difference was my ability to run fast and I only worked on my dribbling and contributing to the team,” she added.
Mukura, who also doubles up as front office administrator at Herentals, has played only for The Students in a career spanning almost 15 years.
The dream now for Mukura is to play in the Caf Women’s Champions League but sadly for her and the team, the country is now suspended from playing in international competitions by Fifa.
“My biggest dream as of now is to play in Africa so I am just banking on relevant authorities to ensure the international ban on our country is lifted so that we have a feel of how it is to play against other African countries,” she said.
The Herentals Queens attacker was recognised as the club’s best player of the season after helping the team to the championship.
“I feel honoured because my hard work has finally paid off. It is something that I had always wished for in my career. Having been playing soccer for the past 15 years such an achievement means a lot in my football career," she said.
“I am working towards bagging the same award next year and to lead the team to bigger achievements. My target for the season was to become a champion in the women’s league and we achieved that as a team. And for me to be further recognised was a bonus.
“It was quite a challenge winning the title because many teams were eyeing it. We had to do everything possible to psyche up and motivate the team. We really want to defend our title so next year we want to work extra hard."
Mukura grew up in the rural areas in Watsomba with her grandmother before moving to Mutare where she enrolled at 3 Brigade Primary and later St Dominics.
She is now a holder of a degree in political science from the University of Zimbabwe.
The Herentals Queens captain also highlighted challenges women footballers face in the country.
“It’s a challenge because when I started playing football I had to make it a secret from my family and when I eventually came clean I was surprised that they were supportive," she said.
“But there is a lot to be done when it comes to women football because people do not really celebrate women soccer but we have got a lot of talent. When we became champions we never got anything from league organisers but we would like to thank Professor Benza for giving us a trophy and medals.”
