Rufaro Machingura, Top Women’s Soccer Player Dies
Rufaro Machingura, Top Women’s Soccer Player Dies
By Kamangeni Phiri
The development of Zimbabwe Women’s soccer took a knock following the untimely death of controversial but highly talented player, Rufaro Machingura.
One of the best talents to ever grace our local stadiums, Machingura, who was affectionately known as Mafidi, died on Thursday January 5, 2023 after developing an internal abscess in the stomach, according to postmortem results.
She was 30.
Her brother-in-law, Jimmy Mukangairwa, said the former utility player passed on at her home in Retreat, Waterfalls, after complaining of side pains.
Rufaro’s talent and achievements on the field of play inspired a lot of girls to fall in love with soccer.
Government gave the former Mighty Warriors and Black Rhinos Queens striker a state-assisted funeral after her family had sent a plea for assistance. Giant funeral company, Doves Funeral Services, also chipped in by providing a casket and all burial related services.
The late Machingura was a product of the Aces Youth Soccer Academy (AYSA), which is credited for grooming some of the country’s finest football players in recent years. She was a key member of the history making Mighty Warriors side which qualified for the 2016 Africa Women’s Cup of Nations and the Rio Olympic Games.
Rufaro started playing soccer as a school kid growing up in the densely-populated suburb of Mbare. Her career started shaping up at Mbare High School where she was identified by AYSA before joining them.
Rufaro was a utility player who was at home playing centre back, defensive link, goalkeeper or striker. She kick-started her career as a defender but it was as a striker that she made a name for herself.
Machingura gained national prominence and celebrity status in 2011 when she scored the solitary goal that helped Zimbabwe Senior Women soccer team win the Cosafa cup against rivals, South Africa.
Former President of Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe (now late) was so happy with Rufaro’s performance and he coined the popular line: “Tsoka yaRufaro, kuRufaro, yakaunza rufaro (Rufaro’s foot brought us happiness at Rufaro Stadium) thereby transporting us, as it hit the ball and it was a score. It transported us up, up, up.”
The late President was present at Rufaro Stadium when the Zimbabwe women’s team won their only trophy.
He gave the team cash and Rufaro used her share to purchase a residential stand in Retreat, Waterfalls.
Machingura also scooped the golden boot after scoring a record five goals in the quarter-finals of the same tournament when Zimbabwe beat Malawi 8-2. Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter and secretary general Jerome Vackle were sitting in the VIP tribune at Rufaro Stadium as they witnessed Rufaro’s five goal haul.
The gifted forward was also employed by the Zimbabwe National Army. She also made a name for herself in the domestic league when she played for army side, Black Rhinos Queens.
Former Zifa technical advisor and warriors coach, Klaus Pagels, led the tributes in mourning one of Zimbabwe’s outstanding sporting talents. He described Rufaro as a rare talent and a good person.
Pagels facilitated the Mighty Warriors training camp in Germany in 2011 after the team won their only COSAFA Championship earlier that year.
Machingura was part of the national team that toured Pagels’ hometown Stade, outside Hamburg, and engaged in matches against lower German Bundesliga sides.
She made the two-week camp in the European country where she proved to be the queen of snooker, challenging all the male members of the technical team that included goalkeepers coach, Nkululeko Dlamini and assistant coach, Ndega Matsika.
Former Zimbabwe Women’s Football League chairperson, Mavis Gumbo presented a perfect platform for the Mighty Warriors to dare dream during that good era of women’s football revival.
Machingura was not part of the history-making team that went to the Rio Olympics in 2016. She, however, featured in one of the Olympic qualifying matches against Ghana.
“Rufaro was one of the finest players to have donned the Mighty Warriors jersey. She symbolised and embodied a true Mighty Warrior spirit, especially through her desire to always win and to see her Zimbabwe team succeed,” said Gumbo.
Her former Mighty Warriors teammate Rudo Neshamba said Machingura would be celebrated for her talents on the field of play, while her sunny personality off it charmed everyone who interacted with her.
“There was never a dull moment in camp with you Mafidi,” Neshamba said, adding that Machingura was “the team’s clown”.
Former warriors and Mighty Warriors fitness trainer, Gerald Maguranyanga, who had the opportunity to work with many players in his long association with national teams, said Machingura easily stood out as a special talent.
He worked with the first generation of the women’s national team players that had Rosemary Mugadza, Nomsa “Boyz” Moyo and Sithetheliwe “Kwinji 15” Sibanda before he returned to serve Machingura’s generation that also had Mighty Warriors skipper, Emmaculate Msipa and Rudo Neshamba.
“I can easily compare the two generations of players and by a country mile, the now-deceased Rufaro Machingura stood out. As a professional athletic trainer, that comparison for me was easy because the young woman was truly that athletic,” said Maguranyanga.
Mafidi’s body was naturally proportional and had great speed.
In a sprint for the ball, she’d find it easier to stride there first before the opponent.
“Mafidi was taller than 99 percent of the girls. That height helps a lot in competitive football if you were a central attacker. But as often happened with some geniuses, they often come flawed these geniuses,” said Maguranyanga in an interview with local daily, The Herald.
In 2014, Rufaro made headlines for the wrong reasons at home and abroad when shocking pictures of her assaulting a match official emerged.
She flew into a mad rage (she often did) at Rufaro Stadium after her team, army side, Black Rhinos Queens, lost the NetOne Charity Shield final on penalties against Inline Academy of Bulawayo.
“Rufaro aimed a few perfect karate kicks at the match officials. It took several strong men to restrain her. In a nutshell, that was the other side of Rufaro Machingura. It was a bad notorious side. Unpleasant. Uncool. Unsexy,” said Maguranyanga.
Machingura could have gone on to conquer the female football world, judging by her vast talent. Some of her Zimbabwean peers are now playing professional football in distant countries like Spain and Israel.
Maguranyanga said like your ultimate flawed geniuses, your Diego Maradona, Paul Gascoigne, George Best and Jabu Pule, Machingura’s life was littered with mischief and the occasional run-in with the law and officialdom; all of which diminished and minimized an otherwise superb talent.
“I cannot forget the very first day I saw her in action at Rufaro Stadium. She displayed fantastic jumping ability, could pack a strong shot left and right; and had the exciting, confident aerial ability. But she also found it easy to be rough, illegally shove a competitor.
I fantasized about the finished product and thought I could give Rufaro extra work and help her fine-tune her V8 turbocharged engine. It wasn’t easy working with Machingura. She’d be at training one day, fully committed and the very next day she’d be absent and full of excuses. That was the story of her life, the Mbare-raised Mafidi, week by week,” said Maguranyanga.
A promising career was cut short when Machingura eventually sunk into the frightening dark world of substance abuse in recent years. She even admitted to abusing drugs in an interview that she gave to the local daily, The Herald.
And it seemed no one could help her anymore. Not even at the tough military side, Black Rhinos Queens where she played. They let her go.
Rufaro was in the process of rehabilitating but never got to recover. She eventually died last Thursday and left behind a four month old baby boy.
Her sister, Rebecca Mukangairwa, took care of the baby from birth, as the former player battled to recover from dru addiction.
Rufaro was buried at Zororo Memorial Park in Chitungwiza on Sunday.
Sports administrators, serving and retired as well as current and former soccer players came out in their numbers to pay their last respects to one of Zimbabwe’s finest soccer talents.
Thank you Rufaro for the happy memories. Go thee well!
