She-wasps lines up zambia warm-up

The Rwanda women national team has lined-up an international friendly fixture against Zambia scheduled for May 4 in Kigali as part of the two teams’ final phase of preparations for the final round of qualifying of the 2014 Africa Women Championship.

This year’s African Women Championship will be hosted by Namibia in October.

Rwanda football federation vice president and spokesperson Veduste Kayiranga told Cafonline.com that the She-Wasps clash against Zambia’s women team, called Shepolopolo will take place at the Kigali Regional stadium.

Kayiranga said coach Grace Nyinawumuntu’s team are looking to consolidating their preparations for the final qualification round fixture against Nigeria. Zambia on the other hand plays Zimbabwe in the final qualifying round.

“We have confirmed the friendly match and it is vital for both nations as we seek to assess the level of our team’s preparedness ahead of the final qualification tie against Nigeria on May 24,” Kayiranga said.
“Our team is promising and it’s our responsibility to prepare the players in every way possible. We believe a friendly match against a superior team like Zambia would help them to prepare for the tricky match against Nigeria which is one of the most successful teams in African women football history.”
Kayiranga said Rwanda will set up its preparation camp on April 26 to begin the final preparations for the Super Falcons of Nigeria.

She-Amavubi sealed their place in the final round after defeating Kenya. They won the first leg in Kigali 1-0 before losing the second leg 2-1 in Nairobi but went through on the away goal rule.
The She-Amavubi host the Super Falcons in the first leg in Kigali between May 23-25 while the second leg will be played between June 6-8 in Lagos.

Head coach Nyinawumuntu said, “After seven years without participating in African competitions, we want to show Africa and the rest of Africa that women football does exist in Rwanda.”

“We still have some shortcomings but we hope to rectify them in our game against Zambia. We need to work extra hard. We have to up our game if we are to overcome Nigeria. It will not be easy against Nigeria because all my players are in-experienced while Nigeria has featured in many Africa and World championships,” Nyinawumuntu added.

“However, we have to put trust in these players and make them believe that everything is possible and with what I have realised, once you are determined, then everything you want to achieve will come in your way,” added Nyinawumuntu.

Seven teams from the qualifiers will join hosts Namibia for the final tournament from 11-24 October, which serves as qualifier for the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Canada.

Confederation of African Football (CAF) News